AIDS Walk Tampa Bay

The tenth annual AIDS Walk Tampa Bay will be held at Vinoy Park in downtown St. Petersburg on Saturday, September 7. The AIDS Walk will benefit the organization AIDS Service Association of Pinellas (ASAP), which, despite its name, serves people with HIV/AIDS not just in Pinellas County but all across the Tampa Bay area.

Since the first walk in 2004, thousands of people have walked the streets of downtown St. Petersburg to raise money for HIV/AIDS maintenance and research, to support those living with the illness, to keep in mind those who have succumbed, and also to educate others. Over 30 years after HIV/AIDS were first identified and named, there is still no cure; the people involved hope to live in a world where HIV/AIDS are not just treatable, but curable.

People can participate in the walk either as individuals or as teams. The individuals or teams can educate the public on how the HIV/AIDS epidemic has touched their lives, and then they can solicit donations that go straight to ASAP to help the organization run even more efficiently than they already do. Last year, individuals and teams met and exceeded the $125,000 fundraising goal for ASAP. This year, AIDS Walk Tampa Bay fundraisers hope to raise over $200,000.

ASAP offers support services and programs for adults and children who have HIV or AIDS in the Tampa Bay area. Over 1000 adults are served by ASAP, and over 100 children benefit from ASAP's Pediatric AIDS program.

The AIDS Walk Tampa Bay is a 5k (3.1 miles) walk of downtown St. Petersburg and the Old North East. Registration begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday, September 7, and the walk starts at 10 a.m. If you can't participate in the walk, you can also volunteer and help keep the route safe for participants and for spectators. For more information on how to register to participate in the walk or how to submit your name to volunteer, go to www.aidswalktampabay.org.