It's the month of April and that means it's time for the 15th Anniversary of Dining Out For Life (DOFL) in Chicago. This annual fundraising event takes place this year on Thursday, April 24th and involves the generous participation of volunteers, corporate sponsors and dozens of local restaurants. Last year DOFL was a huge success, raising over $100,000 in Chicago to benefit AIDSCare and spreading HIV/AIDS awareness to thousands of corporations, neighbors, and friends. This year's DOFL will hopefully be just as successful, and it most certainly can be with your help and support.

The history of DOFL dates back to 1991 when it was created in Philadelphia to support a local AIDS Service Organization. The DOFL idea was so popular and an incredibly effective fundraising vehicle that it began to expand to other cities across the country, including Chicago, in 1993. Currently, DOFL is an international event that takes place throughout North America, raising millions of dollars each year in with the help of more than 2,800 restaurants in approximately 60 cities.

BOI Magazine is proud to once again be a Media Sponsor of DOFL in Chicago and highly encourages you all to participate in this year's event, which benefits AIDSCARE, one of Chicago's most vital AIDS/HIV service organizations.

So how do you participate?
Well, it's really quite simple. DOFL is one of the easiest, and most fun, fundraising events that you can be a part of. Basically on April 24th you gather your family, friends and co-workers and attend one of the participating Dining Out for Life Restaurants (the list of which you can find in this issue of BOI). Order lots of food and drinks, have a great time, and then pay your bill. That's it! The DOFL Participating Restaurants will then donate a percentage of their receipts for that date to AIDSCARE. What could be more simple than that.

Who & What is AIDSCARE?
AIDSCARE is a charitable non-governmental organization that assists those living with advanced HIV/AIDS in the Chicago Area achieve a higher quality of life through housing, care and support services. Serving individuals, couples, men and women, AIDSCARE is uniquely structured to allow its resident clients to move along a continuum of care from independent to assisted living and back, depending on their needs, and to help them access all the medical and support services they require.

People living with HIV/AIDS come to AIDSCARE Residence on Chicago's west side because they are truly homeless or would otherwise be homeless. They come from hospitals, shelters, substance abuse treatment programs, and sometimes from family situations where they are shunned because of their illness.

After moving from shelter to shelter or being on the street, a new resident may not be taking medications to combat HIV. The regimen of medications and food is intense and stable living is essential for success. Without a home, the risk for abusing alcohol and drugs is very high and depression can easily set in. Other serious health issues may exist, such as diabetes, asthma, liver disease, cancer and the like. Arriving at the AIDSCARE Residence in North Lawndale is like finding a safe haven after a very scary passage through a jungle or desert.

At the North Lawndale campus new residents find a community of people who understand and accept them as they are. Their overall healthcare improves as complex medications can now be organized and kept in the same place every day. Good food is available and residents learn more about good nutrition. Volunteer professionals even come to the campus and provide massage, acupuncture and other alternative therapies to reduce stress and help alleviate HIV symptoms and the side effects from powerful medications.

Evident when you cross the threshold, AIDSCARE is a place where life is affirmed. It is a trusting, caring, welcoming environment with personal space for reflecting and relaxing, communal areas for sharing and growing, programs designed for healing and coping, an ongoing exchange between everyone who lives and works and visits here. In other words, AIDSCARE is a home.