Start this Cinco De Mayo with a 5K Walk for a good cause. The 32nd Annual AIDS Walk OC returns to Orange County on Saturday, May 5, starting and ending at William R. Mason Park.
The AIDS Walk in OC is one of the oldest in the country. it expects to draw hundreds of people and raise thousands of dollars to support the men, women and children living with HIV in Orange County and it provide resources to prevent the spread of HIV.
“Rather than going away, HIV transmissions continue almost daily in Orange County with six new infections every week,” said Phil Yaeger, CEO at Radiant Health Centers. “Our goal is zero and we want to achieve that by 2025.”
Today, there are nearly 7,000 people living with HIV in Orange County. That is enough to fill the Orange County Fairgrounds Grandstand. While it is no longer a life sentence, people with HIV must take costly medications every day for the rest of their lives and, unfortunately, face great stigma. It is an incredibly stressful and isolating diagnosis.
The 5K fundraiser will benefit various recipient agencies in Orange County that serve those living with HIV/AIDS, including Radiant Health Centers, Shanti Orange County, The Center and Straight Talk.
Radiant Health Centers provides crucial programs for more than 1,300 people living with HIV and their families, including free HIV and Hepatitis C testing, a food pantry, family and kids programs, housing and mental health services, while working to improve health equity for the LGBTQ community.
The theme for this year’s walk is Rise Above. This theme reminds us that together, we can lift each other up to overcome the epidemic.
Radiant Health Centers is strongly supported by the corporate community and sponsors include PIMCO Foundation, Pacific Life Foundation, MAC Cosmetics, Quest Diagnostics and Room & Board.
AIDS Walk participants can visit radianthealthcenters.org/events/aids-walk-oc to register.
