⭐Friends-Together's Journey⭐

​

FOUNDATION & LOCAL SUPPORT (1999–2003)

• Monthly community meetings begin in Central Florida

• First AIDS Compassion Week, World AIDS Day events, and family retreats

• Launch of bike rides, school drives, and camps

EXPANSION & GLOBAL VISION (2004–2009)

• First relief and education mission to Tanzania

• Continued family support and statewide outreach

• Growth of youth involvement and leadership

TRANSITION & RESILIENCE (2010–2014)

• Shift from camps to grassroots family support

• Volunteers and partners sustain services

• Community connection maintained through gatherings and advocacy

GLOBAL IMPACT & INFRASTRUCTURE (2015–2019)

• Return to Tanzania with large-scale medical and school supply delivery

• Launch of Flow Project and tailoring school

• Opening of the medical clinic

ENDURANCE & GROWTH (2020–PRESENT)

• Programs sustained through COVID

• Return to Tanzania and resumption of full programming

• Health insurance funded for 185 families

• First Friends-Together sponsored nursing graduate

🔗 Link: “View Full Timeline” (expandable section)

Full Timeline

1999 Began holding monthly community meetings in Central Florida

2000

• Hosted AIDS Compassion Week at Florida Southern College with 500 AIDS Quilt panels and four days of education and HIV testing

• Began bi-monthly picnics for families infected and affected by HIV/AIDS

• Hosted the first World AIDS Day event at Florida Southern College

2001

• Held the first Back-to-School Collection Drive

• Hosted the first weekend retreat in Callahan over Labor Day weekend

2002

• Completed the first 500 Miles in 5 Days bike ride (March 31–April 4)

• Hosted the first statewide weekend HIV Camp at Camp Wingmann

• Held the first Halloween Camp

• Held the first Christmas Retreat for 200 people in Winter Haven

2003

• Established a permanent office at Florida Southern College

2004

• Traveled to Tanzania for the first relief and education mission

2005

• Lost Steve (founding member) in a car accident on April 25.

• Held a grief weekend retreat for all families.

• Oldest Friends-Together kids began graduating from high school

2006

• Returned to Tanzania for continued relief and education programs

2007

• Transitioned the annual bike ride to a “300 Miles in 3 Days” format to allow young riders to participate

2010

• Made the difficult decision to stop hosting camps and returned to a grassroots support model

2010–2014

• Volunteers and partners provided ongoing support and services to families

• Used social media to keep families connected

• Hosted several Central Florida gatherings each year.

• Continued World AIDS Day events with partner organizations

• Volunteers continued to educate and advocate in their communities

2015

• Returned to Tanzania for the third time, delivering more than 2,000 pounds of medical and school supplies

 2017

• Completed the fourth Tanzania trip

• Launched the Friends-Together Flow Project

• Began the first building project: the Friends-Together Tailoring Building

2018

• Completed construction and setup of the tailoring school

2019

• Opened the medical clinic

2020–2022

• Sustained clinic, pantry, and school programs through COVID restrictions

2023

• Returned to Tanzania to resume normal summer operations and programming

2024

• Celebrated 25th year as an organization

•  20th anniversary of doing work in Tanzania 

2025

• Funded health insurance policies for 185 families for the first time

• The first Friends-Together sponsored nursing student graduated