As a RipplePHX volunteer and RipplePHX Lotería cast member, I definitely have enjoyed every interaction with the team to make Lotería happen! We went from meetings to long Facebook chat conversations, always having fun and thinking how to improve for our community.

The amazing RipplePHX staff members Jeremy, Jason and AJ were not only able to launch a Lotería event at Stacy’s @ Melrose but to launch it twice when COVID hit! This team worked so hard to make it possible all the way from amazing graphics, sounds, fun games, prizes and making Lotería go virtual. The passion and love for our community made all this happen.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I know how important is to stay informed about my sexual health, know my status, know what resources are there for me, and being able to share this with my community through Loteria was just a chance I couldn’t let go.  Since the first time I heard about Lotería at a restaurant meeting I decided to be part of it with no doubts.

We cannot be more thankful to the National Library of Medicine for funding this project, allowing us to share all the articles every cast member chose every month, the information we shared every month was selected thinking on our friends, family and community. Information we believe is important to know! Thanks to Stacy’s @Melrose for opening their doors to house this project before COVID19, we loved the atmosphere and the great vibe we brought for few nights there!

I learned a lot about HIV every month, being able to share that with my community is just amazing, and as my article title says we will KEEP GOING, The best is yet to come! We are not stopping making ripples. We will continue talking about HIV, talking about how to stop HIV stigma and inviting our community to get tested. We should all know our status. Let’s aim to normalize HIV conversation, this is my goal.

I know you will continue making a ripple within our community by sharing our articles that will be up on our RipplePHX website. Feel free to share them with your friends, family and anyone you think could be helped with that information.

As you read, I want to make sure you know how thankful I am with you and everyone who registered to play, clicked on my articles, shared my posts on social media or ordered the Free At-Home HIV Test Kits. You are the reason why we have RipplePHX Lotería nights!

Whether we continue RipplePHX Lotería in 2021 or not, we will continue to share great information with you and still be able to connect you with great HIV resources.

Get Tested, Know Your Status, Get The Right Treatment, Normalize HIV Conversation And Enjoy The Holiday Season!

With Love,
Saszy DelaCruz