Mark Fisher of Body Positive says the bad weather in Wellington played a factor in this year’s drop in donations for World AIDS Day however the Wellness Fund is looking healthier than in previous years. This year the World AIDS Day collections raised $24,000, of which the Wellness Fund will receive $8000. “This is down from the 12k we had last time and which was exhausted by the end of the year,” says Fisher. Body Positive trialed new initiatives this year to bolster fundraising. The LOVE party raised over $5000 for the fund and The Mr Vintage charities and the Puawai festival at Te Pou also contributed. “Overall the Wellness fund has slightly more than previous years,” he says. “The decrease from the street collection shows that we need to always need to innovate and enhance the way that we fundraise to ensure we can provide the services people that people need. “Especially with number of people living with HIV on the increase with higher numbers of new infections and people living longer with advancements in treatment.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 26th December 2015 - 2:52pm