By Dawn Wolfe Gutterman
DETROIT – It's that time of year again. The leaves will soon start turning, the breeze will carry an undercurrent of crisp, and dedicated volunteers will put on their best walking shoes to raise money for people living with HIV/AIDS during AIDS Walk Michigan.
Walks will occur on Oct. 1 and 2 in Ann Arbor, Bay City, Detroit, the greater Flint area, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Traverse City. In addition to raising money for a great cause, the diverse walk locations offer a chance to get in some street-level sightseeing should a volunteer wish to walk somewhere farther way from her or his hometown.
However, seeing the local sights and getting some exercise are side benefits of participating an AIDS Walk Michigan walk. The main goal is to raise money for agencies that serve nearly 60 percent of the estimated 16,000 Michigan citizens living with HIV and AIDS, according to the AIDS Walk Michigan web site. Also according to the site, "For some HIV/AIDS service organizations, the Walk is their primary fundraising event."
While individuals working separately and together make the event a success, corporate donors help as well, according to AIDS Walk Michigan Board member and AIDS Partnership Michigan Executive Director Barbara Murray.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you to Ford Motor Co. and the Roostertail Entertainment Center for donating water for AIDS Walk Michigan city of Detroit," she said.
Tom Brubaker, the Bay Area walk coordinator and outreach coordinator of HIV/AIDS services for Bay Area Social Intervention Services, was enthused about his area's participation in AIDS Walk Michigan.
"This is the first year in about six years we've been a part of AIDS Walk Michigan," he said. "We've had tremendous success in raising money with sponsorships – we've raised over $11,000. I have a committee of twenty volunteers who are busy recruiting walk teams throughout Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties. We're having very encouraging results."
In an era when the Bush administration wants the vast majority of federal AIDS funding to go to medical institutions, the community-based organizations that have always cared the most for people living with HIV/AIDS need all the help the community can give them. (See "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" online at https://www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=15742)
This year, the money raised during AIDS Walk Michigan will also be "walking" a bit farther from home. Five percent of all proceeds will be given to the Katrina HIV/AIDS Emergency Fund at the National AIDS Fund.
