Ronda B. Goldfein, executive director of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, was honored by the Philadelphia AIDS Fund as Favorite Straight Person of the Year at Black-Tie GayBINGO on Saturday, April 5.
The fundraiser was a fun night at the Crystal Tea Room in the Wanamaker Building and brimmed with glitz and glamour, which is to be expected by an event hosted by the drag queens of the Bingo Verifying Divas.
But the underlying purpose of the night was serious. Robb Reichard, executive director of the Philadelphia AIDS Fund, presented the award to Goldfein and spoke about the AIDS Law Project’s successful lawsuit against the Milton Hershey School in 2012 on behalf of a 14-year-old student with HIV.
The case was “literally David going after Goliath,” Reichard said, as he issued a warning.
“Do not discriminate against someone with HIV when the AIDS Law Project is around,” he said.
Other honorees were Al Vernacchio, a sexuality educator and English teacher at Friends’ Central School, and the Kevin and Keisha Diggs, 17-year-old twins who volunteer at the AIDS Fund.