The 31st Annual AIDS Walk/Run Philly Marches on For New Mission

This weekend, the 31st Annual AIDS Walk Philly and AIDS Run Philly 5K will bring 10,000 people together to raise money for AIDS Walk/Run Philly, and is critical to increasing awareness, fighting stigma, and raising funds to support the most vulnerable people living with HIV disease in the greater Philadelphia region.

There are nearly 30,000 people living with HIV in the Greater Philadelphia Region. The funds raised from donations, sponsorships, and participation will remain in the region, which has a new infections rate three times greater than the national average. Funds raised at AIDS Walk Philly help those most vulnerable as AIDS Fund works toward zero stigma, zero new infections, and zero deaths.

Panels from The AIDS Memorial Quilt provide powerful visuals, an area of great reflection, and a place to start conversations about the power of the AIDS epidemic. Free, rapid HIV tests will be available on site at the Walk. "1981-Until It's Over..." AIDS Timeline, a large text and photographic timeline of over 35 years of HIV/AIDS history, also brings striking visuals.

Individuals can take action in the fight against AIDS by getting sponsors, making a donation, and joining thousands of others on October 15 for the AIDS Walk/Run Philly 5K. These efforts will support emergency financial assistance to people living with HIV disease and help to provide education and increased public awareness of HIV/AIDS issues.

Special guests at the event include Jim Kenney, Mayor of Philadelphia; Robb Reichard, Executive Director, AIDS Fund; Pierre Robert, WMMR, Mutha Knows, Power 99, and Michaela Majoun, emcees, plus the 10,000 walkers and runners raising funds and awareness for HIV/AIDS.

AIDS Walk Philly begins and ends at Eakins Oval. The route goes up and back along Martin Luther King Drive. AIDS Run Philly is a USATF-certified 5K and chip-timed route on Martin Luther King Drive.

The AIDS Walk/Run Philly will be held on Sunday, October 15.

Schedule:
5 a.m.: Set up begins (availability for early morning live broadcasts and interviews)
6:30 a.m.: Run registration begins
7:30 a.m.: AIDS Run Philly begins on Martin Luther King Dr., returns and ends at Eakins Oval
7:30 a.m.: Walk Registration begins, AIDS Memorial Quilt available for viewing
8:30 a.m.: Opening Ceremony, aerobic warm-up, and awards ceremony for AIDS Run Philly
9 a.m.: AIDS Walk Philly begins on Martin Luther King Drive
11 a.m.: Walk Concludes

All roads will be closed surrounding Eakins Oval and Martin Luther King Drive. Each participant is requested to make a commitment to raise at least $50, for which they will receive an AIDS Walk/Run Philly t-shirt.

Participants who raise at least $50 will receive an AIDS Walk/Run Philly t-shirt, and those who raise $250 will receive an AIDS Walk/Run Philly t-shirt and a fidget spinner. A Limited Edition "500 Club" sweatshirt is given to those who raise $500. Raise $1,000 and receive a distinctive AIDS Walk Philly 2017 jacket. The 31st Annual AIDS Walk Philly is sponsored by Merck, Gilead, Medi-Dose�/EPS�, Univest, Frito-Lay, PGN, and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation.

AIDS Walk/Run Philly 5K will again be honored to display 25 blocks from The AIDS Memorial Quilt. A powerful tool for raising awareness about HIV/AIDS, The Quilt is the largest ongoing community arts project in the world. Each of the more than 48,000 colorful panels that make up the Quilt memorializes the life of a person lost to AIDS and serves as a compelling reminder that the fight is not over yet.

AIDS Fund provides emergency financial assistance to people living with HIV disease in the Greater Philadelphia region while providing education and increasing public awareness of HIV/AIDS issues. To support these efforts, AIDS Fund produces a variety of fundraising and awareness programs throughout the year, including AIDS Walk Philly, AIDS Run Philly, GayBINGO, Black-Tie GayBINGO, and Workplace Giving Campaigns. AIDS Fund is also the Philadelphia affiliate of The Names Project, curating panels of The AIDS Memorial Quilt for a local audience.

Register online and get additional information at www.aidswalkphilly.org or call 215-731-WALK.