Published Tuesday, January 25, 2005
TRAVISS TECHNICAL CENTER
Tie-dye T-shirts. Massage therapy. And the battle against HIV and AIDS.
Those three elements were mixed together when the Traviss Technical Center
community came together to help Friends Together promote the fight against AIDS
and HIV.
Friends Together is an organization that helps children and their families who
are dealing with AIDS and HIV.
One of its founders, Cathy Robinson, is on the advisory committee for Traviss's
massage therapy program.
That's how she met Lynne Keenan, the massage therapy instructor.
And that is how the tie-dye T-shirts from Suzan Harrell's geometry class got
involved in the campaign against the disease.
The T-shirt project dates to 1997 when Harrell had her class embark on an
alternative geometry lesson.
This lesson involved making tie-dye Tshirts that incorporated geometrical design
on a piece of cloth.
"It teaches the students how to relate well with customers," Harrell said.
The project changed from a classroom exercise into a fund-raiser about four
years ago when the students decided that they wanted to sell the T-shirts to the
students and staff to raise for a field trip at the end of the year.
Two years ago, Keenan and Harrell decided to also make tie-dye shirts for
Friends Together.
The question was how to pay for those shirts.
The answer: Ask students and staff to sponsor the shirts that would go to
families involved in Friends Together.
But the $4 that each shirt cost bought more than just a geometric design on a
piece of cloth -- it bought the donor a massage treatment.
Donors received a coupon that was redeemable for either a paraffin hand
treatment, which is a therapeutic hot wax treatment, or a 10-minute chair
massage.
The students participating in the massage therapy program performed the massage.
This year, the two teachers had a goal of sponsoring 80 shirts. On Dec. 6,
Harrell sent an e-mail telling the other instructors that they had met their
goal.
Keenan also asked the teachers and students to donate money and unwrapped toys.
The students and teachers donated $120 in cash and enough toys to fill a
55-gallon barrel.
Friends Together will give those toys to children who either suffer from HIV or
AIDS or have a family member who is.
The organization was started by Robinson and Steve Pickett to help make HIV and
AIDS information more available to the public.
Together they have decades of experience with HIV and AIDS.
Robinson has had HIV for the last 19 plus years. That is part of what gives her
the drive to help make the public more aware of the disease, according to the
Friends Together web site.
She has devoted the last 12 years to public speaking and helping to get
prevention message about AIDS and HIV to neighborhoods that are not normally
targeted.
Pickett has been involved in several Buddy Programs run by Friends Together and
educational groups involved with AIDS awareness for more than a decade.
All donations received by Friends Together are used to help with the educational
activities, mentoring projects and summer programs.
These programs are provided for children infected with AIDS or HIV or have
family members, such as parents, who are.
The goal is not only to allow the kids to have fun but also help teach them life
skills that they might not get because of the isolated life AIDS and HIV force
them to live.
Keenan and Harrell both were recipients of Disney's 15th annual Teacherrific
Awards that were presented on Dec. 11.