Oregon Shakespeare Festival's Daedalus Project Fund Distributes $133,250 to Fight HIV/AIDS

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) has distributed the $133,250 raised during the Festival's 2013 Daedalus Project to 10 local and international organizations dedicated to fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS and supporting those affected by the disease.

The organizations to receive funds include: the Alan F. Collins AIDS Project at OnTrack, Inc.; the HIV Alliance serving Josephine, Douglas, Coos and Curry Counties; Siskiyou County HIV/AIDS Foundation (SCHAF); Africare; G.R.A.C.E. USA; Strength for the Journey, Light, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS; S.A.F.E. Ghetto; and SCHAP Community School in Kenya.

"We're so proud we were able to expand the number of organizations we are helping both in the United States and internationally," said Claudia Alick, OSF's associate producer, community. "We were honored to be chosen by Africare as one of their spotlight organizations, and thrilled that our 2014 Daedalus Director Eduardo Placer is already meeting with our planning team to plan our fundraiser for this year."

OSF's company members and audience have come together in August for decades for the Daedalus Project, which includes several fundraising events, including a play reading and variety show. The annual event raises money to end the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to remember and celebrate those who have died from this disease.

"The only way we are ever going to eradicate HIV/AIDS is by working together," Placer said. "For 26 years this community has gathered to do just that. Daedalus is one of the most gracious and generous acts of community I have ever experienced. It is about everyone standing for something greater."

Now in its 27th year, the 2014 Daedalus Project - titled "Act V - The End of AIDS" - will take place Aug. 18 in the Allen Elizabethan Theatre. The Daedalus Project has also been chosen as a beneficiary of Standing Stone Brewing Company's "Pint for a Purpose" program. On March 4, Standing Stone will donate $2 of the price of every pint of beer sold in the brewpub from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Find out more about the event on Facebook.

For more information on The Daedalus Project 2014, visit www.osfashland.org/daedalus.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a not-for-profit professional theatre founded in 1935 and guided by the following mission statement: "Inspired by Shakespeare's work and the cultural richness of the United States, we reveal our collective humanity through illuminating interpretations of new and classic plays, deepened by the kaleidoscope of rotating repertory."

Pictured: The Daedalus Community Choir performs at the 2013 Daedalus Variety Show. Photo by Jenny Graham.