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AIDS Partnership to Distribute Grants

The Ventura County AIDS Partnership is set to distribute grants totaling $150,000 to seven local organizations doing battle with the disease.

The partnership--the county’s largest private fund dedicated to fighting acquired immune deficiency syndrome--will present the grants at a ceremony next week in Camarillo.

“This is our very first round of grant awards, and we are absolutely thrilled,” said Art McDermott, the AIDS Partnership’s program manager.

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“We are honored to fulfill our mission to advance our county’s HIV prevention efforts and AIDS patient support services.”

The AIDS Partnership is the Ventura County affiliate of the National AIDS Fund. It raises and distributes money to benefit Ventura County residents who are infected with HIV.

Last year, the group raised $75,000 in donations. That amount was matched dollar for dollar with charitable gifts from the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.

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About $100,000 of that money will go to underwrite HIV prevention programs, while the remaining $50,000 will support ongoing AIDS patient support services.

Major contributors to the 1996 campaign include the California Endowment, the Amgen Foundation, the Martin V. Smith Foundation and the Swift Memorial Health Care Foundation.

The ceremony will be held Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Nou Nou’s restaurant in Camarillo.

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