PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The curtain has been drawn on AIDS Walk Philly, the popular annual event that has raised millions of dollars for funding and awareness about HIV and AIDS since 1987.
After 38 years, the fundraiser will officially be retired. Organizers said they chose to sunset the walk following the closure of the AIDS Fund last year, as well as “rising costs, limited resources and the shifting landscape of HIV awareness and funding.”
The inaugural Philly AIDS Walk in 1987 raised $33,000. Tens of thousands participated in the decades that followed, raising $18.5 million.
“We must all be thankful for the incredible advances in HIV prevention, care, and treatment that have brought us to the point,” former AIDS Fund Director Robb Reichard said in a statement. “As we continue to strive towards the ultimate goal of getting to zero, I hope that the community will find other ways to support people living with HIV disease and honor the memory of those we’ve lost to the epidemic.”
“This was really a decision based on lack of corporate sponsorship, diminishing numbers [of] people walking and donating,” said Mary Evelyn Torres, executive director of Action Wellness, a nonprofit that provides trauma-informed social services to people with HIV.
To honor its legacy, Action Wellness is partnering with the William Way LGBT Community Center for a tribute event on Oct. 19. The retrospective will feature art, guided tours and memories shared by the community.
The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 19 at William Way. Guests are asked to RSVP by Oct. 16, and there is a suggested donation of $25.
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