Thank you for dining with us at the Taste of the South End

A benefit for the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts (AAC)

A message from Rebecca Haag, President & CEO, AIDS Action Committee

Welcome to the annual Taste of the South End! Your support for this event helps us make a difference in the lives of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS. There are an estimated 23,000 to 25,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Massachusetts, about 21 percent of whom do not know they are HIV positive. At any given time, AIDS Action is providing services to at least one in six of the 18,000 people who do know their status. We connect people with health care, peer support, counseling, free HIV testing, housing and fuel assistance, and legal services. And we work with those who are vulnerable to HIV infection to help them with strategies that keep themselves and their families safer.

Work like this has resulted in a 54 percent decline in new HIV diagnoses in Massachusetts since 1999. No other state in the country has matched this success, which will result in health care cost savings of more than $2 billion -- not to mention sparing 5,699 people and their families the pain of HIV diagnosis.

We are deeply grateful to the dozens of South End restaurant owners and chefs who give generously each year to Taste of the South End. Neighborhood chefs, restaurant workers, and wait staff were among those hit hard by the epidemic in the early years, and the South End dining community's generous support for Taste of the South End shows an inspiring dedication to helping those who are still suffering.

As you make your way through Taste of the South End, we hope you enjoy the remarkable culinary creations from more than 40 South End chefs. And as you do so, know that you are supporting vital services that impact thousands of vulnerable Massachusetts residents, including many who live in the South End.

Sincerely,

Rebecca L. Haag

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