On Saturday,
Sept. 8, a group of 50 people gathered in Frenchtown, New Jersey for a
fundraiser to benefit amfAR. Called “The
Swan Song: Closing in on a Cure,” the event was hosted by philanthropists and
friends, Helen Chaitman, Gene Underwood, John Rowe, and longtime friend of
amfAR, Happy Shipley.
Friends and
family come together in Frenchtown, N.J, to raise $105,000 for AIDS research.
“I learned, primarily from Happy Shipley, the
pleasure of giving,” Chaitman told the guests. “Believe me, I know it's not easy. But there is a great pleasure that comes from
the sacrifice of giving. It makes us all brothers and sisters.” The event raised a total of $105,000 through
donations from guests and a matching grant from the McCrindle Foundation, of
which John Rowe is president.
The
proceeds will support a new “Bucks County Friends of amfAR and the Joseph F.
McCrindle Foundation Award,” which will fund the work of Dr. Timothy Henrich and his team through the amfAR
Research Consortium on HIV Eradication (ARCHE).
amfAR’s
senior scientific consultant, Dr. Jeffrey Laurence, gave a brief talk on Dr.
Henrich’s research as well as amfAR’s role in funding innovative AIDS research
. “Dr. Henrich’s study,” he explained, “will evaluate two HIV-positive patients
who no longer show signs of HIV after undergoing stem cell transplants to cure
lymphoma. They are still on their antiretroviral drugs but, as part of this
study, Dr. Henrich will temporarily stop those medications. His work should
help bring us one step closer to finding a practical approach to an HIV cure.”