Remember the red AIDS ribbon?

The issue of AIDS awareness first popped up more than 20 years ago, with that ribbon becoming a trendy icon. Today, with the emergence of new causes and a rainbow of colored wristbands, the Douglas County AIDS Project is still working hard to make sure its cause is not forgotten.

Geri Summers, executive director of Douglas County AIDS Project, said an objective of the organization was to promote the realness of the AIDS situation, because the problem is “definitely alive and well in Lawrence, Kansas.”

The organization relies on its volunteer staff to help create public awareness. DCAP volunteers do anything from help fill condom bowls at 17 different sites in the city to take HIV- positive clients to the doctor.

About one-third of the organization’s 80 volunteers have been there for five years and some have been there since the beginning of the agency, Summers said.

Kyle Tholen, of Lawrence, started volunteering with DCAP three years ago when he decided he wanted to be more involved in the community.

Tholen, a public health laboratory worker, said he was already passionate about fighting infectious diseases, and “DCAP just allowed me to continue my passion on a different front.”

“The rate of HIV infections is not decreasing; state and federal financial support is decreasing,” he said. “So it is evident that we need to provide more services as more members of our community find themselves living with HIV/AIDS.”

Through the years, the agency has felt the effects of budget cuts. It has a budget of $40,000, down from last year’s $52,000.

“It’s a pretty good chunk of money that’s gone from our budget,” Summers said. “That’s been pretty consistent over the past three to five years where we’ve seen the chunks and chunks of money taken away.”

Despite budget cuts, the organization has not cut any programs, although it did cut a position for education and outreach.

Along with its regular prevention procedures, DCAP organizes several fund-raisers and public awareness events during the year. The agency held a Mardi Gras party in February and an art auction in December. It will also hold the AIDS Walk today. Summers said these events were mostly volunteer-staffed, with close to 40 volunteers on hand to run the Mardi Gras party.

Tholen said participating in street outreach was one of his favorite things to do as a DCAP volunteer. The volunteers pass out free condoms in bars and on the streets.

“Without a cure, prevention is the best thing we have,” he said.

Summers said the volunteers were a huge asset to the organization and to the public in that they “create a community of caring whether it be for people that are HIV positive or for people who are putting themselves at risk.”

Summers said DCAP volunteers created a positive influence in the community.

“There’s power to fight this stigma,” she said. “There’s power to empower people who are positive as well as the power to become leaders in terms of safer sex practices.”