Barbara Richmond and Peggy Ermet both lost their only sons to AIDS when it was a new and unfamiliar disease. At the time, infections seemed sudden and death often followed just as swiftly. With the development of new drugs, the disease is now more manageable and people live with it for years, giving the perception that AIDS is over. But it's active in San Francisco--nearly one thousand people are newly infected every year in the city alone, and a quarter of them don't know about it. In this climate, fundraising organizations have become vital in the battle against AIDS and some of them manage to organize glamorous events and have fun fighting.

Richmond and Ermet created the Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation (REAF) in 1995 as a way to honor their sons' memory. Today, the foundation hosts two main fundraising events: a yearly summer gala called "Help is on the Way," and "One Night Only"--a cabaret show that partners with popular Broadway shows, held twice or three times a year with prices ranging from $25 to $100 per ticket.

Over the last ten years, REAF has distributed over $2 million to thirty-three different agencies in the Bay Area to help them teach prevention techniques and provide AIDS patients with medical attention, job trainings or transportation, and also help the homeless and youth affected by AIDS.

Thirty years ago, Kile Ozier decided to get together with friends, food, and champagne to watch the Academy Awards. Over the years, the group has adopted the name Academy of Friends, and their once exclusive viewing party has become a charity gala aimed to support those affected by HIV/AIDS with the motto: "celebrating life, empowering hope." The foundation has expanded from 25 to 2,700 participants and has distributed over $70 million to sixy-one organizations in the Bay Area.

Unfortunately, the economic recession has caused significant cuts for government funding, and fundraising agencies are left with the task of filling the financial gaps. Funding is spread geographically; cities see less while rural areas receive more. As a consequence, agencies in the Bay Area have had to cut back on their services or even merge so they've become less accessible and have a hard time providing services to everyone who needs them. Agencies are closing in the Tenderloin, the neighborhood with the highest number of AIDS patients, and its residents are forced to seek treatment further away, or possibly not at all.

Funding from individuals has also considerably decreased since last year due to lost jobs. "Everybody's tightening their belts," Academy of Friends executive director Mike Horak, says, forcing the foundations to raise more money by doing less and cutting as many expenses as possible.

If you can't afford the $300 ticket for their Oscars viewing party, Academy of Friends organizes monthly events on a smaller scale. Everyone is welcome in exchange of a small contribution--"less than a round of drinks," according to Horak.

Both organizations function with the help of volunteers. Every year, they treat their guests to exquisite food from the best restaurants in the Bay Area and mind-blowing entertainment shows. Restaurant owners, actors, and volunteers from AIDS organizations all gather to make the event possible.

So put on your finest cocktail attire and feel like a celebrity while helping the AIDS cause.

For donations and more information log on to: http://www.academyoffriends.org/ and http://www.richmondermet.org/