Walk trend reversed…but now what? Just Ask!

MIke Brown

Each and every year for the last 15 years, thousands of people from all walks of life have gathered on a September Sunday to support the Louisville AIDS Walk. Last year’s Walk was attended by almost 3,000 people and raised nearly $170,000 utilizing over 100 volunteers. It was an incredible and successful effort by many different people.

Shortly after taking the Coordinator position of the 2006 AIDS Walk, I brought to the forefront a motto: "Together Everyone Achieves More." It’s a fact that when we all support an event the possibilities and achievements are endless. The Walk funds over the last several years were significantly declining; but last year, we all did something special together – we nearly doubled our donations from the year before.

How did we do it? How are we going to achieve more this year? How are we going to reach our fund raising goals? It’s really simple. All of us need to "just ask!" Just ask our friends, family and colleagues to donate to the Walk. The success of last year’s Walk can be attributed to 112 teams and over 2,350 donors who came forward to help because someone simply asked for their support. I am asking every one of the Louisville LGBT community to do something for the Walk. We can each personally donate a $1 or $5. Some can contribute $25 or $50 to help in the local fight against HIV/AIDS. We can volunteer or help spread the word by hanging posters and distributing brochures. Our new online fundraising service is an easy way to create a personal or team fundraising web page and to contact family and friends by email to accept online donations. All of us can do something and together everyone achieves more!

This year’s Walk will take place on Sunday, September 30th! Live Entertainment, Registration, Team Photos and the KidZone with inflatable’s all begin at 1:00pm on The Belvedere. The 15th Annual Louisville AIDS Walk will begin with John Yarmuth, 3rd District Congressman of Kentucky, cutting the ribbon.

HIV/AIDS affects all of us. My challenge to the gay and lesbian community is to "just ask!" Now is the time to visit www.louisvilleaidswalk.org to sign up a team or donate. If you don’t have access to the Internet, please call us on the Walk line at (502) 574-5947.

See you at the Walk!

By Mike Brown, 15th Annual Louisville AIDS Walk Coordinator