Serving and educating our communities

Lowell D. Stafford was born on September 12, 1967 in Orlando, Florida to Vanella Collin-Stafford. Lowell was the sixth of seven children. He attended West Orange High School and after his senior year he moved to Greensboro, North Carolina and enrolled in the Nursing Program at A&T University. In 1988 he furthered his education by enrolling into the Nursing Program at Gilford Technical College in Jamestown, N.C.
In 1986, 19-year-old Lowell donated blood to his local blood bank and it was then that he learned that he had tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, (HIV). Lowell's quest for support and information in North Carolina was met by irrational fear of contagion, ignorance, and rejection among professional personnel at various medical centers and it was then he made the decision to move back to Orlando to be closer to his family. When he arrived he was determined to make a difference in the lives of people, like himself, living with HIV/AIDS and founded the organization know as Miracle of Love, Inc., (MOL).

He started his dream with a yearly budget of approximately $10,000 and worked as volunteer at the 33rd Street Correctional Facility and the Central Florida Reception Center while writing Grants and in 1999 he was awarded $60,000 from The Ryan White Care Act to do Transitional Case Management at the 33rd Street Jail and the Central Florida Reception Center. He was able to hire 2 full time employees in 1999 and by 2000 he had a staff of 6. Now MOL has a staff of 20+ employees and a yearly budget of approximately $1.3 million.

He served on many different boards on the Local, State and Federal level which include:

• Co-Chair of East Central Florida Health Service Planning Council, from 2002 to 2003.
• Chair of Minority Access, from September 2001-2002.
• Patient Care Representative for Area 7 EMA for Florida, from 2000 to 2003.
• Co-chair of Area 7 EMA Community Planning Partnership, from 2002 to 2003.
• Jackson State University Mississippi Urban Research Center Advisory Board Member, from 2000 to 2002 for APIN Project.
• Member of East Central Florida Health Service Planning Council, from 2000 to 2003.
• Member of City HOPWA Advisory Board, from 2001 to 2003.
• Member of Area 7 EMA Community Planning Partnership, from 1989 to 2003..

Lowell Stafford is remembered by his staff and colleagues as a true soldier in the fight against HIV and AIDS.