Today is Corporate Philanthropy Day

Today, February 28th, is International Corporate Philanthropy Day! This is a day dedicated to increasing awareness of corporate philanthropy and to encourage more corporations to take part in charitable giving and volunteerism. 

Here at Moveable Feast, most of our corporate giving comes through Ride For The Feast - check out the latest RFTF blog post on our corporate sponsors!

We've recently partnered with Kathryn's Kloset, an organization that "acts as a conduit for corporate gift-in-kind donations by connecting multiple corporate partners with organizations serving those most in need in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic states." In particular, Kathryn's Kloset collects items from corporations and then distributes them to dozens of charities in Maryland and the surrounding states.

We just received our first batch of items in February! Moveable Feast received laundry detergent, Clorox wipes, ear muffs, and more. 

Kathryn's Kloset is always looking for more partner organizations - click here if you know of an organization that could benefit!

Green Thumb Memories

The Moveable Feast Garden Program is now in its second year, and we're actively looking for volunteers! An easy way to get started at home is by growing a starter plant. Once your plant is big enough, it will be transplanted into our gardens to help feed our clients!

Dietitian Sara transplanting basil into pots. (April 2010)

There are many different fruits and vegetables that you could grow. A full list can be found here.



Italian basil plant, to be used by Chef Damon in cooking meals! (April 2010)

Our team of dietitians will help you with any questions you have about getting supplies, planting seeds, tending to your plant, and more.



Baby strawberry fruit, still growing! (April 2010)

 Check out the Garden Volunteer section on our website if you're interested!

Cool Diagnosis News Out of India

Well, this is pretty swell! As we all know, HIV/AIDS is a hugely international issue. Thirty years ago, we only witnessed the onset of HIV as it was contracted in adults. But now we have seen actual generations born with the disease, such as Hydeia Broadbent, whom we wrote about on Tuesday.

In India, there has been a huge breakthrough in the diagnostic tools for HIV in infants and children.

When an infant is born with HIV, the World Health Organization recommends antiretroviral treatment regardless of CD4 count or disease stage. Without this treatment, there is a 53% chance that the infant will die before the age of two.

In the past, it's often been difficult to diagnose HIV in infants without doing a DNA test. The mother's antibodies remain in the infant's body for around 18 months after birth, skewing the HIV test results.

A large study undertaken by India's National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has found a great new method to diagnose HIV effectively in infants and children. It is called a high-end polymerase chain reaction and was used successfully on over 9,000 children in its pilot study.

The old method required a large liquid blood sample, that had to be stored in a refrigerated setting. This method was costly and cumbersome in India, especially for testing children that lived in remote areas of India.

The new test only requires a small sample of dried blood. This can be transported over many miles without becoming degraded or tainted. 

This allows infants to be diagnosed earlier, allowing them quicker access to life-saving medicine. Receiving this treatment early will give the child a better chance of surviving into adulthood and living a long life. 

Great news! We love it when there are breakthroughs in HIV/AIDS research.

This Sunday: RFTF Chili Cook-Off!

Calling all Moveable Feast supporters!

Join us this Sunday, February 27th at the Moveable Feast kitchens for a spicy, snappy afternoon of chili tasting - at the RFTF Chili Cook-Off 2011! 

5 Ride For The Feast teams will be competing with their most unique chili recipes. The main prize will be awarded by a judging panel featuring such notable Baltimore celebrities as:

• Dara Bunjon, food blogger for the Baltimore Examiner and owner of Dara Does It: Creative Solutions for the Food Industry
• Thomas Rudis, owner and top chef of Hampden's Golden West Cafe
• Keith Bridgeman, one of Baltimore's finest firemen, thereby an expert on chili
• and Brandon Stanley, Moveable Feast's very own kitchen crew member.

The event will also feature a raffle of a gigantic gift basket, donated by Manager Maurice Lamarche of The Fresh Market in Pikesville.

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Tickets will be $15 at the door. Kids twelve and under are free. Raffle tickets sold for $5 at the door and $7 inside.

"I am the future and I have AIDS."

Have you ever heard of Hydeia Broadbent?

She was born in 1984. Her mother was an addict. And she also was HIV-positive.

Hydeia inherited HIV from her mother in utero, at a time when the general consensus about HIV was that it was transmitted by risky sexual behaviors or tainted needles.

Hydeia was the first of a generation of babies in the 1980s to be born and grow up with HIV. (By the way, on Thursday, read about a new breakthrough in HIV testing for infants and children!) She was a test baby for pediatric HIV medicines. Her survival, along with the survival of thousands of other HIV+ infants, demonstrated that with the proper treatment, HIV doesn't have to be a death sentence.

Today, Hydeia is an HIV/AIDS activist, working to support young women who have the disease. Her mission is to "show the world that HIV can happen to anyone."

Today is President's Day

In honor of the occasion, let's look at how HIV/AIDS funding factors in to President Obama's budget for the fiscal year 2012. 

• Maintain or increase current level of funding for HHS, HUD, VA, and DOJ
• Increase funding for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program by $88 million
• Increase funding for AIDS Drug Assistance Program by $80 million
• Use $60 million for a supplemental grants program that will help State Drug Assistance Programs with waiting lists or restrictive cost-containment measures, like we blogged about in December
• Increase funding for HIV prevention measures at the CDC by $58 million
• Increase funding for school health programming at the National Center for HIV, STD, Viral Hepatitis and TB Prevention
• Increase funding for domestic HIV/AIDS research at the National Institutes of Health ($70 million) and at the VA ($173 million)

All information taken from the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) Blog.