The celebration of the 2008 World AIDS Day continued on December 3rd with a candlelight march from Gromada Plaza down South Main Street to the headquarters for the Sociedade Cultural Acoriana where a community awards ceremony and a free buffet was held for participants. City Councilor Steve Camara opened the event with a moving statement about the need to end discrimination against all groups of people. Event host Natasha Pereira of Seven Hills Behavioral Health then invited City Health and Human Services Director Dr. Henry Vaillancourt forward to give citations from Mayor Correia to the ten organizations who helped to organize the World AIDS Day events. Participants were then invited to write the name of someone lost to AIDS on a paper starfish before Family Service Association staff member Barbara Fontaine read a poem about the value of every person as starfish were tossed back into the :ocean". Click here read the Herald News article about the events. Click here to see photos of the event at Gromada Plaza. Click here to see photos from last year's event. For more information, contact the STEP Outreach Center at 508-235-1012.
 

(Top row, left) Bobbie Archambeault and James O'Sullivan hold candles in the walk to the Sociedade Cultural Acoriana on South Main Street. (Top row, center) Jodie Ponte, Jessica Pereira and Lenny Amaral hand out ribbons to people as they enter the hall. (Top row, right) City Councilor Steve Camara opens the award ceremony. (Middle row, left) Volunteer Jodie Ponte and Seven Hills staff Denise Ponte and Michelle Magueira pose in their "Power of One" tee-shirts. (Middle row, center) Natasha Pereira prepares to call the awards ceremony to order. (Middle row, right) Jodie hands paper starfish to Phaedra Carco and Joyce Cross to write names of people who have died from AIDS. (Bottom row, left) Denise Ponte accepts the citation for Seven Hills. (Rachael Abbott throws starfish to the "ocean" as Barbara Fontaine reads a poem. (Bottom row, right) Kate Marin goes forward to accept the citation for Towne House and the May Institute.