Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Harmony For Hep - Working Together To Raise Awareness Of Hepatitis C

Harmony For Hep - Working Together To Raise Awareness Of Hepatitis C

HepCAware. org and The Arizona Hepatitis C Coalition host a concert to raise awareness of Hepatitis C. $10 donation gets you music, food and lots of info about Hepatitis C.

Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) October 26, 2005

HepCAware. org and The Arizona Hepatitis C Coalition host a concert to raise awareness of Hepatitis C. $10 donation gets you music, food and lots of info about Hepatitis C.

Two organizations working together to make a difference is not always done in the nonprofit world. But Kelly Zirbes and Christina Hurst want to change that in the Hepatitis C Community. Christina, who works for the Arizona Department of Health for Hepatitis C and volunteers for the Arizona Hepatitis C Coalition, discovered Kelly and her organization, Hepatitis C Awareness, Inc., after reading about their national campaign of using music to raise awareness of this silent epidemic. Wanting to bring more attention to hep c in Arizona, Christina asked Kelly to help her put together an awareness concert. They spoke on the phone, a date was set and a partnership was born.

"It's really important for organizations to team up when they have the same message. And the more voices you have the louder the message will be," says Kelly Zirbes. "I hope other hep c nonprofits can find inspiration from this and create other partnerships."

Hurst named the event "Harmony For Hep" to celebrate the joining of the two organizations. The concert takes place on Saturday November 5th at Flicka's Baja Cantina in Scotsdale, located at 2003 N. Scotsdale Rd. The event starts at 4 p. m. and will go till 9 p. m. Music will be provided by SoulCatcher and Kelly's Lot. A donation of $10 or more will get you dinner, music and lots of info about Hepatitis C. Sponsors include Flicka's Baja Cantina, Apothecary Shop, Walgreen’s Specialty Pharmacy, Pueblo Family Physicians, Audio Video Resources, Xango, The Biting Edge Family Dentistry.

Harmony For Hep

Working Together To Raise Awareness of Hepatitis C

Saturday November 5, 4-9 p. m.

$10 Includes Dinner

@ Flicka's Baja Cantina

2003 Scottsdale Rd 

Scottsdale, AZ

Featuring Blues/Rock from SoulCatcher and Kelly's Lot

Benefiting HepCAware. org and The Arizona Hepatitis C Coalition

The proceeds from the concert will go to HepCAware. org and The Arizona Hepatitis C Coalition.

Did You Know That:

AZ Governor Janet Napolitano has declared November Hepatitis C Awareness Month Total reported cases to AZ Dept of Health is 55,910 as of 1998 when it became reportable. Hepatitis is #1 blood-borne disease in the state of AZ (HIV cases are at 14,650 when it became reportable in 1985) The Arizona Hepatitis C Coalition's (AZHCC) priorities are Harm Reduction, Screening and a Resource center

Hepatitis C is a systemic blood-borne virus that primarily attacks the liver. It is spread by blood to blood contact. One in 50 Americans have HCV - two out of three do not know it. There is no vaccine for Hepatitis C.

Have you:

Received blood, blood products, or an organ transplant prior to 1992?

Ever shared drug paraphernalia? injecting or snorting?

Ever been stuck by a used blood needle?

Been on kidney dialysis?

Had a tattoo or body piercing?

Had sexual activity that involves contact with blood?

Shared personal care items(razors, toothbrushes, etc.) with other people?

Been incarcerated?

War veteran (especially Vietnam)

If you answered YES to any of these questions, you may have been exposed to the Hepatitis C virus. Get tested.

Contact:

Kelly Zirbes

(818)769-2701

Www. HepCAware. org

Christina Hurst

602 690-2810

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