By hosting or designing a table, by volunteering or by otherwise contributing to DINING BY DESIGN, you are helping to support poor HIV/AIDS patients in San Francisco. All post-production profits from the events go to DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS that directly distributes funding to San Francisco's largest HIV/AIDS clinic, the Positive Health Program at San Francisco General Hospital.
DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS is one of the largest providers of funding to HIV/AIDS service and education programs in the United States. Founded in 1984, DIFFA has mobilized the immense resources of the design communities to provide close to $35 million to hundreds of HIV/AIDS service organizations nationwide. For more 24 years, DIFFA has been one of the country's largest supporters of both direct care for people living with AIDS and preventative education for those at risk. For more information about DIFFA, please visit www.DIFFA.org
From the first reports of the epidemic, the UCSF Positive Health Program (PHP) at San Francisco General Hospital has led the world in defining best practices of clinical care in HIV/AIDS medicine. PHP provides state-of-the-art primary care to over 3,000 largely uninsured HIV patients. Services include clinical care, psychosocial support services and specialized programs to support healthy living. PHP also administers dozens of clinical trials, including research on long-term survivors, newly infected patients and patients living with HIV and hepatitis. The program also has a major presence in the developing world training local providers and directing several international research projects. The UCSF faculty of PHP is among the most cited in scientific publications and conducts work in all major areas of HIV science. The staff's motto is to always focus first on patient wellbeing and to work towards a collective mission - "to explore, learn, teach, heal and comfort." Visit PHP online at www.php.ucsf.edu
The AIDS Research Institute (ARI) coordinates and integrates all AIDS research activities at the University of California, San Francisco. The ARI stimulates innovation and supports interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at all aspects of the epidemic domestically and around the world. Bringing together hundreds of scientists and more than 50 programs from throughout the university and affiliated labs and institutions, and working in close collaboration with affected communities, the ARI is one of the premier AIDS research entities in the world. Visit ARI at www.ari.ucsf.edu