HIV Volunteer Friendship... yesterday, today and tomorrow.
The HIV Volunteer Friendship Program began as a care team ministry in 1993. Founded by Fr. Dennis Rausch of Fort Lauderdale, the ministry 'worked in the trenches' caring for many who were dying from AIDS and related complexes in Broward County.
By 2001, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami assumed a greater role bringing much needed assistance to both volunteers, care givers and the community served. Today, the HIV Volunteer Friendship Program continues as one of the most effective programs of it's kind in the country collaborating with many local organizations including the United Way of Broward.
Still active in the work he began more than 15 years ago, Fr. Dennis (pictured above) anoints Robert Almonte with the Oil of the Sick during the Mass for World AIDS Day 2007 at St. Mary's Cathedral in Miami. The Cathedral is the mother parish of the faithful in the Archdiocese of Miami.