Russ and Beth Milham to Receive 2025 Hope Harris Award from AIDS Project Rhode Island

Honorees Recognized for Decades of HIV/AIDS Education and Advocacy Through the AIDS Quilt and Beyond

Providence, RI — AIDS Project Rhode Island (APRI) is proud to announce that Russ and Beth Milham will receive the 2025 Hope Harris Award, given annually to individuals or organizations exemplifying service to the communities APRI serves and unwavering dedication to the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Named in memory of Hope Harris, an APRI board member and leader who was deeply committed to reducing stigma in the African American community during the height of the AIDS crisis, the award honors those whose work reflects her values of outreach, equity, and compassion.

“We’re highly honored and deeply humbled to be selected to receive the Hope Harris Award,” said Russ and Beth Milham. “Ms. Harris was a true powerhouse, and her outreach to the African American community was, and still is, crucial. We have always shared her values of reaching out to underserved people. Our relationship with AIDS Project RI goes back to the founding of our Quilt chapter in the early 1990s, and we have maintained our relationship with ‘The Project’ continuously through many shared activities over the ensuing years.”

The Milhams are longtime residents of Aquidneck Island, having moved to Newport from Massachusetts in 1966. Beth first became involved with the AIDS Memorial Quilt in 1991, joining the Rhode Island chapter organizers. A year later, she became the first volunteer chair for the chapter’s major display at Brown University—the same weekend they received their official charter. Russ soon followed, and together the Milhams have spent decades not only helping to organize Quilt displays, but bringing individual panels into classrooms as a tool for HIV/AIDS education.

Their advocacy spans far beyond HIV awareness. The Milhams have been deeply involved in LGBTQIA+ support efforts, clean energy and climate change education, and other environmental and justice-driven causes.

“Russ and Beth’s work reflects the exact spirit of this award—quiet leadership, deep commitment, and a belief that advocacy must be rooted in both action and education,” said David Martins, Director of AIDS Project Rhode Island. “Like Hope Harris, they’ve helped transform grief into community power.”

The award will be presented during the annual AIDS Run/Walk for Life, taking place on Saturday, May 3 at Pierce Field in East Providence. While the event is best known for raising awareness and funds to support APRI’s vital programming, it also serves as a day of remembrance, celebration, and continued resolve in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

For more information about the event or to register or donate, visit: https://fsri.rallybound.org/run-walk