AIDS hospice Casey House will present its annual Casey Awards on Sat, Feb 28 at SnowBall 2009, the organization’s annual fundraising gala.
The 2009 winners are Richard Burzynski, Jim Shea and Jane Philpott.
Burzynski was the first executive director of the Canadian AIDS Society and was instrumental in lobbying for Canada’s first national AIDS strategy. He was also the founding executive director of the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations. He was one of the speakers at the first United Nations Special Session on AIDS in 2001, at which the UN general assembly adopted its Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. Burzynski also helped found UNAIDS and continues as an advisor to the UN group.
Shea, whose award will be presented posthumously, was a founding volunteer at Casey House and a community health organizer in Ontario. Philpott spent a decade working as a physician in Niger, a West African country devastated by AIDS. In 2004 Philpott founded Give a Day, a which has raised $2 million to date for international AIDS relief agencies by encouraging donors to give one day’s pay on World AIDS Day.
The theme of this year’s SnowBall is Love and Devotion. Entertainers will include Divine Brown, ambient fusion musicians Eccodek and dance troupe Hit and Run. There will also be a silent auction featuring several travel packages and private functions catered by celebrity chefs.
To buy tickets to SnowBall call (416) 962-4040 ext 236 or visit Caseyhouse.com.
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