CCAF saves lives, helps people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, and prevents new infections thanks to the generous support from its sponsors.
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Scholarship Success StoriesHelen Veress-Mitchell Scholarship Fund
Investing in people living with HIV is crucial and a primary mission of Capital City AIDS Fund (CCAF). The Helen Veress-Mitchell Scholarship program was created in 2002 and since has accrued donations and awarded more than $300,000 in scholarships. These scholarships help people living with HIV attend college or technical school. Most are pursuing careers in the health care field in hopes of helping other people living with HIV.
The Helen Veress-Mitchell Scholarship Fund was established in memory of the mother of Joyce Mitchell, chair of the CCAF board and a co-founder. "The scholarship fund is something my mother would be very proud of," said Mitchell. "I couldn't think of a better way of keeping her memory alive."
Charisse Ahmed is a CCAF scholarship recipient and is studying to get a PhD in Nursing. Ahmed discovered she was HIV+ after testing herself. Her mother died when she was a teenager. When her family finally told her the cause of her mom’s death, Ahmed started volunteering as an HIV/AIDS outreach worker, doing testing. That’s when, at home alone one night, she administered her own test. She was only 20 years old.
Ahmed is a Fullbright Scholar and received a research grant to study HIV in Swaziland for nine months. She presented her research focused on health care experiences among adolescents living with HIV at the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam.
More and more, with medications helping people manage their health; children infected at birth are growing into young adults living with HIV. Many have lost their parents to the disease and are on their own. The Helen Veress-Mitchell Fund is dedicated to helping these young people move forward with their lives and attend college.
Scholarship Guidelines and Application (pdf)
The Helen Veress-Mitchell Scholarship Fund is supported entirely through donations. Capital City AIDS Fund needs your help. Please donate to the CCAF scholarship fund and help young people living with HIV/AIDS realize their dreams of attaining a higher education. Here's what your contribution buys:
$25 Buys paper and notebooks for one student for one semester
$100 Buys lab supplies for one student for one semester
$500 Buys books and supplies for one student for a full year
$1,000 Buys tuition for one student at a community college for one year
$2,500 Buys books and tuition for one student for two years of community college or one year at a technical school
$5,000 Buys books and tuition for two students at a community college for two years
$10,000 Buys books, tuition, and supplies for two undergraduates at a 4-year state college for one year
Thank you for your support
