Event Hosted by Robert Wennett & Mario Cader-Frech Raises $500,000 to Launch HIV Awareness Initiative

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Event Hosted by Robert Wennett & Mario Cader-Frech Raises $500,000 to Launch HIV Awareness Initiative

Miami Beach, FL — Dec. 1, 2025 — In conjunction with World AIDS Day, Equality Florida is announcing that philanthropists and longtime HIV advocates Robert Wennett and Marion Cader-Frech recently hosted a private gathering that successfully raised $500,000 to propel a new HIV Awareness Initiative aimed at educating Floridians on the tremendous advances in HIV prevention and treatment, the state’s HIV policies, and remaining stigma for people living with HIV.

Held at the couple’s Miami Beach residence designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron, the event brought together civic leaders, advocates, and longtime champions of LGBTQ equality for an evening of conversation, community, and transformative generosity. Thanks to the leadership of Wennett and Cader-Frech, guests rallied behind the need for public education on HIV and related scientific breakthroughs.

“This moment represents a turning point,” said Nadine Smith, Executive Director of Equality Florida. “Robert and Mario have helped ignite the resources and attention needed at a critical moment for HIV. Their generosity will accelerate our work to inform Floridians about how to protect themselves and others, what it means to be living with HIV, and to dispel outdated fears around HIV.”

Equality Florida’s HIV Awareness Initiative will:

• Tell the real story of HIV today by sharing the lived experiences of people who rely on modern prevention and treatment, letting Floridians see the progress science has made and the challenges that remain.
• Call out stigma and discrimination that keep people from seeking care or living openly.
• Provide clear, reliable public health information that helps families understand prevention, treatment, and the realities of HIV in 2025.
• Bring together public health leaders, legal advocates, medical providers, and impacted communities to coordinate strategy and support.
• Remove barriers and expand access to prevention, testing, and treatment across the state.

“We are happy to support this effort as part of a broader strategy for reducing new HIV transmissions and HIV stigma. At the height of the AIDS epidemic, people were taking dozens of pills per day. Now most treatment regimens are one pill per day, and we have proven, effective tools like PrEP and PEP that prevent transmission in the first place,” said Robert Wennett, event host and primary supporter of the initiative. “With Miami-Dade County having among the highest HIV cases in the country, it’s imperative to take action.”

For 28 years, Equality Florida has been the state’s leading organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s LGBTQ community through education, coalition-building, advocacy, and grassroots organizing.

Media Contact:
Brittany Link
Communications Director
[email protected]