Media Contact:
Craig Bowers
Chief Marketing and External Affairs Officer
213.201.1475
cbowers@aplahealth.org
June 6, 2019
AIDS Walk Los Angeles Opens Registration for 35th Annual Fundraiser on Newly Launched Website
AIDS Walk Los Angeles Invites the Community to Build Teams to Help Support and Raise Awareness for HIV/AIDS & Prove that AIDS Has Met Its March
LOS ANGELES (June 13, 2019) — APLA Health announced on Sunday at the LA Pride Festival and Parade that registration is open for the 35th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles, which will be held on October 20, 2019 at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles. Individuals and Teams can register at no cost and fundraise on a newly launched website (aidswalkla.org). AIDS Walk Los Angeles is the pioneer fundraising walk that raises vital funds and builds support and awareness of the continuing need to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
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AIDS Walk Los Angeles 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., Sunday, October 20, 2019 Grand Park – Downtown Los Angeles 200 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA |
“AIDS Walk Los Angeles is the premiere HIV/AIDS event to organize community, educate, bring awareness and work to end an epidemic,” said Craig Thompson, CEO, APLA Health. “We’ve made major strides in improving the health and quality of life for people living with HIV, but the disease has yet to be eradicated and our work continues. Our ask for this year’s walk is simple: Walk with us, talk with us, and share your experience.”
This year’s AIDS Walk Los Angeles is the first to be managed in house by APLA Health, which has been the beneficiary of the walk since its inception. The theme for the 2019 event is “AIDS Has Met Its March,” which calls upon participants to continue the fight in our efforts to make AIDS history. The walk is approximately four miles and starts and ends at the steps of L.A. City Hall and takes about two hours to complete. The morning kicks off with an aerobic warm-up, followed by opening ceremonies featuring celebrities, musical performances, and HIV/AIDS activists and leaders. A post-walk celebration congratulates walkers, volunteers and supporters.
Each year AIDS Walk Los Angeles opens registration during Pride Month–when LGBTQ+ communities and supporters stand together to celebrate and advocate for inclusiveness and civil rights. Since 1985, hundreds of thousands of walkers and supporters have raised over $88 million in the fight against HIV/AIDS. These funds are a vital lifeline that sustains APLA Health as well as other HIV/AIDS health and support organization beneficiaries.
“The HIV health services and support programs, HIV prevention programs, and advocacy we offer to the thousands of men, women, and families affected by the disease in Los Angeles County are still as relevant today as they were when we opened our doors to help our first five clients in 1983,” said Thompson. “In 2017, the CDC reported that African-American and Latinx gay or bisexual men accounted for a higher proportion of new HIV diagnosis and people living with HIV compared to other races. In 2018, the CDC reported an uptick in HIV infections in millennials. Because of these statistics, we continue to walk to educate, provide care, and support for all of our communities. Funds raised allow us to offer critical services that include primary medical care, HIV specialty care, dental and behavioral healthcare, as well as food, housing support and more.”
To register for AIDS Walk Los Angeles or for more information, please visit: www.aidswalkla.org
Media Contacts:
Alex Medina
Director of Communications, APLA Health
amedina@apla.org | 213.201.1521
Emanuela Cariolagian
For AIDS Walk LA & APLA Health
emanuela@momentumsolutionsteam.com | 323.644.2111
About AIDS Walk Los Angeles: Since 1985, AIDS Walk Los Angeles has drawn hundreds of thousands of supporters to walk, and millions more to donate, raising more than $88 million to combat HIV and AIDS. The funds raised at the event remain a vital lifeline that sustains APLA Health’s care, prevention, and advocacy programs for the over 60,000 men and women living with the disease in Los Angeles County. Proceeds also benefit more than 20 other HIV/AIDS service organizations that are able to participate and raise funds through the Community Coalition Initiative (CCI). For more information, visit aidswalkLA.org
About APLA Health: APLA Health’s mission is to achieve healthcare equity and promote well-being for the LGBT and other underserved communities and people living with and affected by HIV. We remain committed to ending the epidemic in our lifetimes. We are a nonprofit, federally qualified health center serving more than 15,000 people annually. We provide 20 different services from 16 locations throughout Los Angeles County, including: medical, dental, and mental healthcare; PrEP counseling and management; health education and HIV prevention; and STD screening and treatment. For people living with HIV, we offer housing support; benefits counseling; home healthcare; and the Vance North Necessities of Life Program food pantries; among several other critically needed services. Additionally, we are leaders in advocating for policy and legislation that positively impacts the LGBT and HIV communities and conduct community-based research on issues affecting the communities we serve. For more information, please visit us at aplahealth.org.
