Although I’ve only been with the organization since October, I can certainly feel the impact of 10 years of dedicated service to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in the Grand Rapids community. The name HIV/AIDS Services, Inc. and the people involved will be remembered for their compassionate, solid, grassroots efforts to bridge the gaps for those affected by HIV/AIDS for the last decade. It is obvious that because of so much hard work, sweat and tears we are now able to dream, plan and develop into the next phase of service to people in our community.

Our name change to the grand rapids Red project and our new tag line: promoting health, preventing HIV, reducing harm are intended to signal to the community that we are ready to take the next step. We are continuing to develop progamming that addresses HIV prevention in the 21st century. At the same time, we are looking more broadly at correlating issues like hepatitis C testing, hepatitis A and B vaccination, overdose prevention, wound care and other important health concerns.

I feel very fortunate to be joining the team at such a pivotal time in the organization’s development. It’s exciting to be an agent of change- focusing on issues that are so important to our community. We welcome your support, your feedback and suggestions. We’re only a call or click away!

Jennifer Marcum, Executive Director, 616-456-9063, jennifer@redproject.org