Congratulations to our 4 winners—Tania Sotelo, Nery Martinez, Stefany Zelaya and Nancy Rodriguez!

From left to right: Lisa Windesheim-Zigas, World AIDS Day Youth Ambassador (accepting award on behalf of Tania Sotelo), Nery Martinez, Stefany Zelaya and Nancy Rodriguez.

Read some of the essays below:

Tania Sotelo Essay

Nery Martinez Essay

Nancy Rodriguez Essay

Over 500 people celebrated the Grove’s twentieth anniversary at the second iteration of Light in the Grove on Nov 30. 2011. Franco Beneduce Productions and Jesse Dimond Design, the producer and designer of the event respectively, took a creative step up from their inaugural presentation in 2010.

The variety of light effects and dancing sprites evolved this year into a singular, elegant vision. The fountain of candles in the Circle of Friends led to a river of candles. These and Inflated light globes softly lit the entire Redwood Grove. The classical cello of Dan Reiter seemed to come from as many sources as the candlelight.

Copious Dance Theater interpreted the spirit of the Redwoods in front of a projection of flying birds. Under the protection of a 7,400-square-foot clear and heated tent, the celebration continued with food from Daniel Ripley Catering and music from harpist Natalie Cox. The program began with the entrance of a piper in full Scots kilt leading Grove Executive Director John Cunningham.

Last year’s honoree, Pat Christen, introduced Ambassador James C. Hormel. Ambassador Hormel was honored for his many contributions to the LGBT community, and especially for his support of the community response in the early days of the epidemic. It was also Ambassador Hormel who hosted the first event to raise seed money for the Grove when it was just the vision of a few people. Meg McKay sang a moving song, My Brother Lived in San Francisco, evocative of the days here thirty years ago.

This led into a finale on the south slope outside the tent by the San Francisco Flaggers. Spotlights first showed three individuals moving slowly to somber music. The music gradually became more energized and the lights came up to reveal more than a dozen performers on the slope.

Over twenty years, the Grove has been fortunate in a great many ways – friends, supporters, volunteers. Over the 36-hour period of our two events, the forecasted wind event which wreaked havoc in several parts of the state did not visit the Grove.

At the World AIDS Day commemoration this year, the local unsung hero award was presented to the staff of San Francisco General Hospital wards 5A, 5B and 86, which became the medical centerpiece of “the San Francisco model. These units were the first of their kind and were staffed by committed individuals at a time when the risks of transmission were not yet understood.

The group was introduced by Grove Board member Marcy Fraser – herself one of those pioneers at General – and was represented by Diane Jones. Over 80 individuals were present to reunite with their fellows and receive the applause and recognition of the other five hundred attendees.

The Leadership Award recognized the advances in public policy and program funding made by the Clinton administration and President Bill Clinton’s international work to abate the epidemic. While the president was unable to attend in person, he acknowledged the recognition in a video statement.

After President Clinton’s video address, the winners of this year’s World AIDS Day Youth Scholarships took to the stage.  Each winner read an excerpt from his or her essay to an audience of 500 people and were presented with awards.  The National AIDS Memorial Grove Youth College Scholarship Program is an essay contest open to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors.  The purpose of the Youth Scholarship Program is to engage youth to explore the ways they are touched by HIV/AIDS and the National AIDS Memorial Grove by submitting an essay of up to 750 words, which is judged by a panel of experts from the community. This is the third year of the Grove’s World AIDS Day Youth Scholarship Program.

Bishop Yvette Flunder closed the program with a specially adapted rendition of “Somewhere.” Her appearance has become a recent tradition of the World AIDS Day program in the Grove. Following the program, names of those added to the Circle of Friends in 2011 were read aloud.

The day concluded with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the The Falls. This restoration of one of the original Victorian waterfalls is located at the west end of the Grove and is dedicated to the memory of Frances McCormick. It brings flowing water back to Dry Creek and adds burbling water sounds to the calls of birds along the tranquil path leading to the meadow.

The event ended with the traditional soups of Daniel Ripley and countless informal conversations among friends and colleagues. As people drifted away, volunteers began the job of dismantling the site. As always, nothing that happens in or with the Grove would be possible without the dedication of the many people who have found themselves drawn to participate together in whatever ways to make it happen. Thank you to each and every selfless Grove volunteer!

At our April 16 Community Volunteer Workday, the Grove was privileged to host a group of twenty-five youth from Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church’s Junior High Ministries. The youngsters were part of a much larger movement of students and youth groups all over the world making an effort to fight hunger and save lives by participating in World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine program. These students had chosen to spend the final four hours of their 30-hour fundraising fast—working at the Grove.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of students participate in this fast, going without food for 30 hours. They experience hunger firsthand to help feed and care for hungry children. They learn what it takes to stop hunger by raising monies to help feed and care for tens of thousands of children all over the world. Their eyes are opened to a world of hunger and hope, and their minds are filled with the understanding needed to fight poverty and injustice.

Supporters of the Grove are building an endowment to help ensure its ongoing care and maintenance. We believe that all government funding designated for HIV/AIDS should be used for direct services. Therefore we continue to rely primarily on private funding, gathering support from individuals, foundations and corporations to accomplish our mission.

There are many ways to give to the National AIDS Memorial Grove. Donations are made for many reasons, some in memory or in honor of loved ones. The Grove’s Ensure Remembrance Campaign provides gift and recognition opportunities for individuals, corporations and organizations helping to finish site improvements or to reach the endowment goal for the perpetual care of the Grove.

National AIDS Memorial Grove
P.O. Box 2270
San Francisco, CA 94126-2270

You may download the donation form and print it out if you wish to send it in with your gift. If you do not use this form, and your gift is in memory or in honor of someone, please make a note in the corner of your check or include the information on an attached sheet of paper.

If you would like us to notify others of your gift, please give us their name and address as well. For gifts in memory of, or in honor of, someone, we will send an aknowledgement stating that the gift was made in honor of, or in memory of, whomever you choose.

For donations to the Circle of Friends, please download the donation form and completely fill out the box on the right side and mail to the office with your payment.

All gifts to the National AIDS Memorial Grove are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

There are many ways to give to the National AIDS Memorial Grove. Donations are received in memory of or in honor of loved ones. Others contribute by becoming Workday sponsors. The Grove’s Ensure Remembrance campaign provides gifts and recognition opportunities for individuals, corporations and organizations helping to finish site improvements or to reach the endowment goal for the perpetual care of the Grove.

The following list identifies Ensure Remembrance campaign features and donors:

Features in bold are still available to be funded.

Please call the Grove office at 415-765-0497 for further information.

Opportunity, Gift, Donor(s) and Description

Dogwood Crescent—$200,000
Funded by
Alvin H. Baum, Jr.
William F. Clark
Laurence A. Colton & John W. McCoy
Ayse Manyas Kenmore
The Russell-Shapiro Family

Fern Grotto—$100,000
Funded by Kevin McAree and co-sponsor Wells Fargo
Circular gathering area at western end of Grove

Meadow Overlook—$125,000
Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund

Crossroads Circle—$100,000
State of California; Recreation & Parks Department; Environmental Restoration Grant 2001

North Creek Trail
Northern trail through the Oaks running from the Crossroads Circle to the Fern Grotto

South Creek Trail
Southern trail through the Oaks running from the Crossroads Circle to the Fern Grotto

Main Portal—$100,000
Steve Silver & Beach Blanket Babylon

South Portal—$75,000
Terry K. Watanabe

Pine Crescent—$75,000
Gap Foundation

The Meadow—$75,000
A. Spencer Andrew Foundation

West Portal—$100,000
The Donald O. Collins Foundation

Dogwood Dell—$50,000
Madeleine H. Russell

Woodland Path—$50,000
Academy of Friends

Dry Creek—$40,000
In Memory of Stephen Marcus

Redwood Grove—$35,000
Chuck Holmes and Falcon Studios

Woodland Stream—$35,000
William Brinnon and Ron Dhein of Kahn & Keville

Winding steam bed of large cobbles connecting Dogwood Crescent to Redwood Grove

Fern Grotto—$30,000
Roof, Eidam & Maycock

Map Pedestals—$30,000 each
Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund Charles Schwab & Co. Family Fdn.

Information kiosks—which will be located near the West Portal (to be built) and between the Main and South Portals

Magnolias—Area surrounding the South Portal entrance to the Grove

Manzanitas—$25,000
Peter Lawrence Block

Redwood Knoll—$50,000
Peter Lawrence Block

Maples Center—$15,000
Timberland Company

Maples East and West — $30,000
Forest Creatures Entertainment

Pines Center — $15,000
Rory Snyder and Katherine Lightfoot

Pines East—$15,000
Margaret Hess/Don J. Olivier Trust

Pines West — $15,000
MeMe Pederson in memory of Jay Luque, A Gentle Soul Who Lives His Life to the Fullest

Oaks North—$15,000
James and Chris Clark

Oaks South $15,000
Sara Sanderson and Eric Weaver

The Crescents, located at the south entry way to the Grove’s Dogwood Crescent, adjacent to and on the outer rim of the Circle of Friends. The three Crescent opportunities, in addition to being engraved in larger letters than the Circle of Friends (which are 1-1/8″ high), allow for personalized inscriptions of up to 50 characters in length:

Crescent of Healing — $5,000 donation (Principle placement – letters are 1-1/4″ tall)
Crescent of Hope — $10,000 donation (Major placement – letters are 1-3/8″ tall)
Crescent of Remembrance — $25,000 donation (Premiere placement – letters are 1-1/2″ tall)

This donor opportunity allows for a few words or a short phrase to be inscribed honoring or remembering someone, with greater visibility than the Circle of Friends.

For more information, call the office at 415-765-0497.

Current Crescent Engravings:

Crescent of Remembrance

Levi Strauss
Pacific Bell
Roche Laboratories, Inc.
Roxane Laboratories, Inc.
Darren Star

Crescent of Hope

Bayer Diagnostics
Bank of America Foundation
Michael Taylor Designs, Inc.
Providian Finanical
Ayse Manyas Kenmore
UnitedHealthcare
Joshua Elder Persky — All Souls We Loves Walk Beside Him Now
In Loving Memory of Charles Holmes — A Great Citizen, A Great Philanthropist, A Great Friend

Crescent of Healing

Roselyne Swig
Parish Fund of the Tides Foundation, in Memory of Madeleine Russell
Silva Watson Moonwalk Fund
Clear Ink
Menlo School Classes of 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
Triangle Pharmaceuticals
Ortho Biotech, Inc.
John David Dupree in memory of Glen Margo, DrPH
Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP
Xavier Villarreal & Mercedes Oyuela, in memory of Francisco Villarreal
Wells Fargo Employees & Customers
Robert M. Williams & Terry Eaton, in memory of Greg “Kitten” Carl
Jeff Wiggins (2)
Gallagher Public Relations
Banana Republic
Chuck Holmes & Nolan Losky, in loving memory of all our friends
Terry Anderson, Dennis Brown, & Friends, in memory of Gary Lebow
Ken Ruebush & Jeff Zimman
Michael & Stephen Maharam
Michael DeLuca, in memory of Daniel E. Collins
Edith Lambert, in loving memory of Mark F. Lambert
Horizons Foundation
AMB Property Corp. Salutes Strong Spirits & Brave Hearts

Bench Donors - $15,000

Cathy Sarkowsky & Friends
Larry Hjort, Katherine Krebs, Patti Planz, & Claire Broline
Arnie Jackson
Donald O. Collins & Carlin Holden
Bay Area HIV Health Care Providers
Evelyn Craig
John Badham
Taylor Phelps Family & Friends
Thomas White
Joseph DeRamon
Mark Illeman & Bruce Lindstrom
Gaia Fund
Sean Monahan
Jay Norton & Mike Phillips
Lindy Harris

Boulder Donors: – $10,000

Allen Miller
John Gayle Bryant
Cecile Nathan
Kenneth Miller
San Francisco Foundation
William Grasse
Stan Tigner
Ronald Kimmell
Michael Steingraber & Friends
Stuart Piontek & Stage Interiors