Dr. Patty Rupp of the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center will swim 10 miles this Saturday to raise money for the AIDS Community Resource Network (ACORN) of Lebanon.
She will begin in Georges Mills and finish at Lake Sunapee, where ACORN is throwing a beach party to celebrate the pledges she has received.
Rupp is a member of the Infectious Disease Department at DHMC and has worked at its clinic for AIDS patients. She is currently conducting research, and the swim is her first involvement in the group.
ACORN is a volunteer organization that serves people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS,in the immediate Vermont and New Hampshire area. Volunteer Coordinator Susan Hamel estimated that there are roughly 4,000 people with HIV in New Hampshire and 2,000 in Vermont, not all of whom know they have the disease.
A small group of health care professionals, both social workers and members of the hospital staff, formed ACORN in the fall of 1988.The organization has expanded to include about 300 volunteers who engage in a broad range of activities.
The activities include a buddy program that pairs an HIV-positive person with a volunteer who provides companionship and four to five ongoing support groups. ACORN volunteers also help with the case management of victims of the disease.
The organization offers educational and preventive services, and has a public policy committee which represents the group in AIDS related issues.
In addition, the organization has previously sponsored fund-raising activities, ranging from a series of dinners to benefit performances by the Panther Players of Vermont Public Radio.
