The HIV community is vibrant and varied. It includes advocates, researchers, social workers, innovators, survivors, leaders, activists, protectors and defenders. They face seemingly insurmountable challenges with courage and determination. Most of them are never acknowledged for their work. The Poz 100 addresses this on a national level.

In recognition of World AIDS Day, we would like to celebrate our area’s HIV community. We are collecting reflections, interviews, and stories from the people that made history and will shape our future. Your voice is important, and we want to hear from you. You can participate by submitting an original blog post to hivphillywebmaster@gmail.com or completing a brief online interview questionnaire at http://tinyurl.com/d37dbzs. Share a link to the blog with your friends and colleagues, and click “join this site” at the top right of this page.

We will post at least one new story each day for the month of December. We’ve already got four awesome and inspiring posts lined up from people who prevailed when the world didn’t expect them to survive.

Come back tomorrow to see our first post from someone who really practices what she preaches.