Philly AIDS Thrift is celebrating a serious milestone — having donated $5 million via 250 grants over its existence — and practically 20 years working inside the neighborhood.
Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou is the co-founder and govt director of Philly AIDS Thrift. She defined the shop started within the early 2000s.
“It was in 2005 [that] me and a few pals began the group,” she stated. “[We were] longtime AIDS activists and lovers of junk. We put the 2 collectively, and that is type of what we got here up with.”
Kallas-Saritsoglou stated that, since then, the group has grown exponentially. This features a transfer to a bigger South Philly location and a second location at Giovanni’s Room – the oldest LGBT and feminist bookstore within the nation.
“Again then, it was simply two of us,” she stated. “And now, we’ve got most likely about 30 paid employees individuals and doubtless about 70 volunteers that type of assist us do our work, seven days per week. And out of doors of employees and working prices, we give all of our proceeds to native HIV organizations within the metropolis.”
She stated the shop gives all sorts of merchandise – from “greenback to designer to every little thing in between.”
“We have now a complete kitchen room that’s big,” she stated. “We have now a guide space. We have now an electronics room, a music room and a classic room. We have now greenback land, the place every little thing in there may be $1. We have now designer racks. We have now reasonably priced furnishings.”
There’s additionally an in-store HIV testing middle – which offers no-charge, drop-in, speedy testing and associated counseling companies with HIV/AIDS charity organizations.
Philly AIDS Thrift’s Grant Program started in 2014. Kallas-Saritsoglou stated the method begins towards the tip of every 12 months.
“We have now a web-based grant portal that we open in October of yearly,” she stated. “All of the organizations submit proposals, they type of inform us a bit of bit in regards to the work they’re doing, initiatives they’re engaged on and the way a lot funding they want with a purpose to try this.”
From there, Philly AIDS Thrift’s grant committee evaluate purposes and disperses cash to eligible candidates firstly of the 12 months.
In complete, the group has awarded over 200 grants to greater than 50 organizations.
Kallas-Saritsoglou stated this previous 12 months’s contributions raised the group’s complete donations to $5 million.
“This previous 12 months, we had been capable of give 34 organizations $358,000,” she stated. “And the beauty of that is that the cash type of goes to all types of [HIV/AIDS] care, as a result of all these totally different organizations are specializing in issues like prevention, outreach, case administration, analysis and training.”
Kallas-Saritsoglou stated the $5 million milestone “means the world” to her.
“It’s simply a tremendous factor that we will take gadgets that folks not need and switch that into {dollars} that assist the work of people who find themselves doing so many fantastic issues which can be making an impression in the neighborhood,” she stated. “And we most likely by no means thought that it could develop to be this, but it surely simply offers you the hope and encouragement that we will accomplish that rather more.”
Philly AIDS Thrift’s primary beneficiary of donations is the AIDS Fund, which disperses cash to 19 AIDS Service Organizations within the five-county Philadelphia area. The grant program permits for extra funds to different HIV/AIDS Service Organizations. Eligible organizations have traditionally been awarded wherever from $1,500 to $10,000, with a mean award of $5,000.
Grant purposes for this 12 months will re-open later this 12 months. Eligibility standards for final 12 months’s organizations may be discovered right here.
As for the neighborhood, Kallas-Saritsoglou stated there are a lot of methods to assist.
“We at all times say the best way to assist us is store, donate, volunteer,” she stated. “And for donations, we settle for issues which can be in good, resellable situation.”
Donations are accepted Tuesday to Saturday of every week from midday to 7 p.m. Extra info on Philly AIDS Thrift and methods to become involved may be discovered right here.