Los Angeles, CA, Sept. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The first-ever all-digital AIDS Walk Los Angeles ended this past weekend, with hundreds of individual and team fundraisers, community partners, and sponsors collectively raising $974,058 on behalf of AIDS service organizations in Los Angeles County. This year’s AIDS Walk theme, “Get with the Programs,” enlisted walk participants in the fight to make AIDS history by providing detailed program by program run-throughs of the vital APLA Health services supported by their fundraising efforts.
With the suspension of large-scale public events due to Covid-19, our supporters’ exceptional efforts in raising such a large amount completely online is a testament to their enduring passion and commitment to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in our lifetime.
“While COVID-19 has been top-of-mind for everyone, it has also served to highlight the significant health disparities that exist in Los Angeles County. Black and Latinx people are persistently more likely to experience barriers to care, and new HIV diagnoses are substantially higher in these communities,” said Craig E. Thompson, CEO of APLA Health, the organizer and primary beneficiary of AIDS Walk Los Angeles. “We need to stay focused on ending the COVID-19 pandemic, but we can’t discontinue our work to stop the more than 1,600 new HIV infections per year in Los Angeles County. We can and will continue the fight to end both of these pandemics.”
“AIDS Walk Los Angeles is our opportunity to let everyone know that HIV and AIDS are still prevalent and that people living with HIV or at risk of HIV need our help. Every year, the money raised at AIDS Walk Los Angeles goes to support vital Care, Support and Education programs at APLA Health,” Thompson continued. “We still need events like AIDS Walk to rally our community, let people mourn and remember, and to help end the barriers and inequities that still exist for far too many people in Los Angeles County.”
Since 1985, hundreds of thousands of walkers and supporters have raised over 90 million dollars for their fellow Angelenos in the fight against HIV/AIDS. These funds remain a vital lifeline to sustain APLA Health as well as other HIV/AIDS health and support organization beneficiaries.
The 36th AIDS Walk Los Angeles was supported by more than thirty generous sponsors. Premier Sponsors included Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Paul Hastings. Grand Sponsors included Delta Air Lines, ABC7, Latham & Watkins, Paramount Pictures, ViiV Healthcare, and L.A. Care Health Plan. Principal Sponsors included Capital Group, Oaktree Capital, Quest Diagnostics, Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions, and Wells Fargo.
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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 $90 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 those living with HIV in Los Angeles County. Proceeds also benefit other HIV/AIDS service organizations that 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 wellbeing for the LGBT and other underserved communities and people living with and affected by HIV. We remain committed to ending the HIV epidemic in our lifetimes. We are a nonprofit, federally qualified health center serving more than 18,000 people annually. We provide over 20 different services from 20 locations throughout Los Angeles County, including: medical, dental, and mental healthcare; HIV specialty care, 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.
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