Red Dress Party San Diego – like other red dress parties in other cities – has a mission to raise funds and awareness for organizations that serve the local HIV community. The event is a night of music and dancing mixed with charity and fun, where all attendees – and we mean everyone – are required to wear a red dress, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. This serves as a powerful sign of solidarity and compassion for those of us affected by HIV and a way to unite the crowd in one radiant theme. Red Dress Party San Diego is a unique celebration that invites everyone to be brave, let loose, and celebrate impact.

This is important because San Diego County still lags behind the state and country in key measures related to combating HIV and AIDS:

It’s estimated that in San Diego County, a new person tests positive for HIV every 18 hours.
Approximately 9% of people living with HIV in San Diego County don’t know they have it.
Around 37% of people with HIV in San Diego County follow their care plan, lower than the approximately 43% of patients in California, and 50% of patients nationwide.

Although we have made huge strides in HIV prevention and treatment, there is still a great need for testing, counseling, and care.

ABOUT OUR PARENT ORGANIZATION

Red Dress Party San Diego was founded and is presented by Think Red Project, Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. It’s mission is two-fold: to plan, promote and produce events that raise funds and awareness for the local HIV/AIDS community, as well as to activate a new generation of philanthropists, those who want to do something both feel-good and fun-loving. We are a group of concerned and engaged volunteers that are serious about fundraising and serious about fun.

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OUR BENEFICIARY

The San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative (SDHFC) is a program established in 1990 by a group of local funders and community members concerned with the impact of HIV/AIDS on the San Diego region. Its mission is to raise, leverage and collaboratively allocate private funds in order to reduce the impact of HIV in the San Diego region.

By supporting the SDHFC, we are able to focus our energy on producing and promoting events to raise funds and awareness, rather than the administration of vetting and qualifying multiple beneficiary organizations. Additionally, the board of Think Red Project is chaired by the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation (SDHDF), so we help steer where our monies go to ensure we are maximizing impact.

As of 2023, below are some of the organizations that the SDHFC currently supports, all of which are San Diego County-based non-profit organizations that are heavily involved in serving the San Diego HIV/AIDS communities:

Christie’s Place - HIV/AIDS services for women, children and families.
Family Health Centers San Diego - provide caring, affordable, high-quality health care and supportive services to everyone, with a special commitment to uninsured, low-income and medically underserved persons.
Fraternity House - provider of residential care homes for men and women living with HIV/AIDS.
Mama’s Kitchen - nutrition & meal delivery to those affected by latent-stage HIV/AIDS.
Neighborhood House Association - helps people living with HIV/AIDS to enroll and stay in HIV primary care.
San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program - provides comprehensive legal services to HIV positive individuals who meet certain financial eligibility requirements.
Special Delivery - food pantry and home delivery of custom-made foods for those living with HIV/AIDS and chronic illnesses in Central San Diego.
Stepping Stone of San Diego - alcohol and drug recovery agency that offers a variety of treatment and recovery programs.
UC San Diego Mother, Child, Adolescent HIV Program - offers comprehensive, family-centered care to women, children, youth and young adults living with HIV.
Vista Community Clinic - medical facility providing HIV testing, prevention, viral suppression, and counseling services in North County San Diego.

VIDA San Diego - resolving the HIV crisis within the Latinx community, where social stigma, poverty, language barriers, education, and access to care, deter testing and increase the infection rate.
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