LOS ANGELES, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, October 17, more than 25,000 people are expected to take to the streets for the 20th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles, which benefits AIDS Project Los Angeles and other local AIDS organizations.
AIDS Walk Los Angeles has continued to be a huge success since the groundbreaking event at Paramount Pictures in July of 1985, when a host of well-known celebrities joined Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and other local elected officials to open the first event of its kind for AIDS. Participation that first year reached more than triple the goal of 1,000 walkers, who raised more $673,000 for AIDS Project Los Angeles.
"The first AIDS Walk Los Angeles was truly a pivotal event in AIDS awareness and fundraising," said Craig E. Thompson, Executive Director of APLA. "As we mark twenty years of walking to fight AIDS, we draw strength and inspiration from the unceasing commitment of the Los Angeles community to overcoming this epidemic. AIDS remains a serious public health emergency and on October 17, we will join together with a broad cross-section of the Los Angeles community to change the course of the epidemic."
Today, AIDS Walk Los Angeles is Southern California's largest HIV/AIDS fundraising event and has raised more than $47 million raised for AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and other local AIDS organizations.
The 20th annual event will also honor AIDS Walk Founder Craig R. Miller, a lifelong Los Angeles resident and activist, who launched the inaugural event. Building on the unprecedented success of that first AIDS Walk Los Angeles, Miller went on to establish AIDS Walks in New York, San Francisco, and other major cities, which in total have raised more than $250 million for leading AIDS charities throughout the United States.
The 20th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles welcomes the return of special celebrity guests who helped open the inaugural event in 1985, including Beth Howland (Alice), Zelda Rubenstein (Poltergeist), and Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond).
They will be joined by a host of special celebrity guests to open this year's Walk, including Ming-Na (ER), John Spencer (The West Wing), Carl Lumbly (Alias), Eric McCormack (Will & Grace), Hal Sparks (Queer As Folk), Willie Garson (Sex and the City), Charles Kimbrough (Murphy Brown), Clea Duvall (Carnivale), Bill Brochtrup (NYPD Blue), and Lori Valenti (Big Brother 5).
AIDS Walk Los Angeles is made possible by the generous gifts of corporations and individuals, including Presenting Sponsor Wells Fargo, Grand Sponsors Marilyn & Jeffrey Katzenberg, NBC-4/T52, Paramount Studios, Robinsons-May, and United Airlines. Created and produced by Craig R. Miller / MZA Events, AIDS Walk Los Angeles drew more than 25,000 people and raised nearly $2.6 million in 2003.
To register or make a donation for AIDS Walk Los Angeles, please call 213-201-WALK (9255) or visit http://www.aidswalk.net/.
AIDS Project Los Angeles, one of the largest non-profit AIDS service organizations in the United States, provides bilingual direct services, prevention education and leadership on HIV/AIDS-related policy and legislation. Founded by four friends in 1982, APLA is a community-based, volunteer-supported organization with local, national and global reach. For more information, visit http://www.apla.org/.
Some facts about AIDS in Los Angeles:
* HIV is the third leading cause of death among African American males
aged 25-44 in Los Angeles.
* HIV is the fifth leading cause of premature death in one quarter of
LA's Health Districts, including Compton, Hollywood-Wilshire, Long
Beach and the Southeast and Southwest regions.
* It is estimated that between 54,000 - 57,000 people are living with
HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles.
* One out of five people with HIV in Los Angeles do not know they are
infected.
For further information, please contact Justin Burke of AIDS Project Los Angeles, +1-213-201-1525, jburke@apla.org; or Andy Sousa of AIDS Walk Los Angeles, +1-213-201-9255, andrews@aidswalk.net.
AIDS Project Los AngelesCONTACT: Justin Burke of AIDS Project Los Angeles, +1-213-201-1525, or+1-323-333-0669, jburke@apla.org; or Andy Sousa of AIDS Walk Los Angeles,+1-213-201-9255, or +1-415-310-1732, andrews@aidswalk.net
Web site: http://www.apla.org/
