A Night Full of Love, Compassion & Giving
Our Executive Assistant, Jaimi Romano, sharing about her work with HEAL International.
The 5th Annual Night of HEALing
October 6, 2018
The 5th Annual Night of HEALing was one for the books! We had our biggest event yet, with the largest HEAL team behind the scenes making it a success. If you don’t know what the Annual Night of HEALing is, it’s the highlight of the year for our community, supporters, and team. It is a time for our HEAL family to come together to embrace not only one another, but the work we do in both Phoenix, Arizona and Tanzania, East Africa.
Every year it is inspiring to see people come together who all share the same commitment we do - to see the end of new HIV infections, for people who are living with HIV to know their status and have access to medication, and for people to get the support they need in order to live happy, healthy lives. The Annual Night of HEALing is an opportunity for us to share the passion and love behind why we do the work we do, as well as to gain support and funding for all of our programs. The majority of our financial resources come from this event, and without it, HEAL would not be able to impact lives around the world.
This year, our event was hosted at the Arizona Grand Hotel in a beautiful ballroom where hundreds of people gathered in their finest formal attire. Our theme was, “Love is Always in Fashion” - inspired by our first ever HEAL fashion show! Our very own Community Health Facilitators walked the catwalk alongside other professional models who volunteered their time - all beautiful in designer clothes from Black Russian Label and handcrafted jewelry from Tanzania.
Our professional photo booth allowed guests to take funny photos to remember this special night. Our silent auction included gift baskets, original canvas paintings, handmade jewelry from Tanzania, and luxurious trip packages. Everyone’s favorite part though, was hearing from our incredible team. The audience was moved by our team’s stories and an infectious sense of gratitude, love, and acceptance swept through the room. The community around HEAL is unlike any other - it is filled with compassion and peace - and we love being able to share that during our event.
In addition, we also had an opportunity to share about our programs in Arizona and Tanzania. Our programs focus on providing health and empowerment education and health related support to at-risk youth and resource-limited communities. In Tanzania, our Hatushindwi Women’s Program empowers young girls in their sexual and reproductive health, as well as equips them with skills and resources to achieve their dreams. In Arizona, HEAL trains interns as Community Health Facilitators, and also offers the Of My Own program, which is dedicated to creating a safe environment for young girls that have been sex trafficked to practice self-expression, feel strong and confident, and learn refusal skills. We also get to use our time with these girls to teach about sexual health and puberty in a way that is caring and acknowledges the girls’ needs respectfully.
Most of our programs are carried out by interns and volunteers, but it is only with the support of our incredible community that we are able to make an impact in the world. We are so grateful to the guests who attended this event - you make our work possible - and we are so grateful we got to share an evening together. Thank you for giving who you are, so we can give who we are.
We are looking to expand our work to reach even more vulnerable and at risk youth in Arizona and Tanzania. For more information about each of our programs, check out the rest of our website!