Press Release – September 3, 2014 – National AIDS Commission Island Committee:
The National AIDS Commission IC is pleased and excited to extend a most grateful thank-you to Edie & Joe Pendleton. Edie works with Alberta Health Services in Canada, where she is employed at the Royal Alexandra Hospital as a Social Worker in the HIV Clinic. When she visits San Pedro, she volunteers with the NAC CCM IC.
Throughout our outreaches, we had been struggling with the lack of condoms and lubricants, which is now a country wide situation within the Health System. Thanks to Edie, the NAC CCM Island Committee’s stock of Condoms went from Zero to 500. Along with the very needed condoms, Edie also provided the Committee with a stock of personal lubricants as well as teaching aid.
Two of the more significant donations are in the form of a manual for Persons Living with HIV and a significant donation of $2,000. Speaking on the donation, Edie explained; “I approached HIV Edmonton, in Canada, to ask for a mere handful of condoms to bring back to the committee as I normally do on my visits back to the island, and was shocked when they came out with a box of 1000 male condoms, female condoms, dental dams and lubricants.I did not bring the entire amount of male condoms on this trip but will be sure to bring the rest on my next visit.”
On the financial donation, Edie explained that she received payment from a Native American Indian community following her contribution at an HIV and Infection Disease Health Fair. Based on the circumstances, Edie’s professional ethics as a Registered Social Worker dictated that she should not accept the money personally. Rather than refuse payment altogether Edie convinced her employer to agree for the money to be donated to the NAC CCM Island Committee, as she “believes in the work that we do here on the island, and has seen first-hand the need for financial support”.
The committee is very grateful for the donations and plans to use this money in our new project that we will be undertaking where our focus will be, “Improving the Life and Wellbeing of Persons Living with HIV”.
