Source: kywnewsradio.radio.co<\/p>\n
The sky was gray and a light drizzle was falling as the 33rd AIDS Walk Philly wound down in front of the Art Museum.\u00a0<\/p>\n
AIDS Fund executive director Robb Reichard said despite the ugly weather and a drop in corporate sponsorship, this year’s event outpaced the last.<\/p>\n
“We are about $300,000,” he shared. “We’re really excited about that.”<\/p>\n
The number of young people taking part was another reason for Reichard to celebrate.<\/p>\n
“We are so excited that there are so many high school and college students that are out here today,” he said.<\/p>\n
By mid-morning, as the walk was wrapping up, the enthusiasm and commitment of participants like Ciji Carr was not flagging.<\/p>\n
“I think we’ve kind of lost focus on how severe and serious this is,” Carr said. “So I think that something like this is something great because it brings more people out, and it brings the conversation back up and it should never go away.”<\/p>\n
Ciji was part of a team organized by her friend Luis Molina.<\/p>\n
“As a gay male, it’s impacted my community a lot,” said Molina, “and I just feel like we need to bring that awareness up to everybody, and get to zero together.”<\/p>\n
That means zero stigma, zero new infections, and zero deaths.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But with people under 25 accounting for one out of every four newly diagnosed HIV infections, Molina said it’s vital to engage and educate them.<\/p>\n
“Some people aren’t truly prepared for what’s out there,” he shared. “I feel like we should be doing a lot more to make them aware and educate them, and let them know that either abstinence or protection is the best way to keep yourself safe.”<\/p>\n
Carissa Watlington’s mood was positively sunny after walking up Martin Luther King Drive and back, exclaiming, “I’m happy, I made it!”<\/p>\n
It was her first AIDS Walk, dedicated to her brother’s memory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“And we still got others who live with AIDS and HIV,” she said, “so hey, listen, it’s for them as well. And it’s good exercise.”<\/p>\n
Reichard also noted the need for funding doesn’t end when the last walker crosses the finish line, and that donations can be made at the\u00a0AIDS Walk Philly website.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[62,2123,2122,2127,2124,52,2126,2125],"class_list":["post-2315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aids-hiv","tag-aids","tag-aids-fund","tag-aids-walk-philly","tag-carissa-watlington","tag-fundraising","tag-hiv","tag-luis-molina","tag-robb-reichard"],"yoast_head":"\n