If You're Going
Saturday is World AIDS Day, and people in the Pee Dee are gathering at Carolinas Hospital System’s Floyd Conference Center in Florence to remember the 25 million people from around the world who have died from the virus.
Six hundred of those people were from the Pee Dee.
The AIDSWALK is a 1.5-mile walk around Carolinas Hospital System, starting at 10 a.m.
Carl Humphries, CEO of HopeHealth, said the AIDSWALK is much more than a simple fundraiser.
“There are two purposes to the AIDSWALK,” he said. “The first is to raise money to help people living with HIV and AIDS. The second reason is to raise awareness of the disease in our community.”
Today’s event will be the 10th year HopeHealth has hosted the AIDSWALK in Florence, and Humphries expects turnout to be as good as it always is.
“Typically, we have anywhere from 150 to 250 people,” he said.
Humphries said although the AIDSWALK is always scheduled to coincide with the time of year World AIDS Day occurs, it has never happened to be on the same day.
“(Saturday) is World AIDS Day,” he said. “We always have the AIDSWALK on the first Saturday in December, but this is the first time I can remember that Dec. 1 has fallen on the day of the AIDSWALK.”
In a press release, Humphries said HopeHealth provides medical care to people living with HIV/AIDS in the Pee Dee from infancy to the age of 82. In the Pee Dee, there are 1,400 people living with HIV/AIDS, which is 10 percent of the total HIV/AIDS cases in the state.
According to HopeHealth literature, HIV/AIDS does not discriminate based on gender, sexual preference, race, religion or wealth. It is an equal opportunity epidemic.
But for Humphries and the rest of the staff at HopeHealth, the AIDSWALK is a time of remembrance.
“We’ve had 600 people to die of AIDS in the Pee Dee and this is always an opportunity for us to remember these individuals and the contribution they made to our community,” he said.
The walk will begin after a short ceremony at 10 a.m. at the Floyd Conference Center at Carolinas Hospital System. Walkers will follow a path around the Carolinas campus before returning to the start finish line for free refreshments.
Donations are not required to participate in the walk; however, people who collect contributions using pledge forms will be awarded prizes based on the donations they gathered.
If You’re Going:
What: HopeHealth’s 10th Annual AIDSWALK
When: 10 a.m. today
Where: Carolinas Hospital System’s Floyd Conference Center on Pamplico Highway in Florence
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LifestylesLifestyles
AIDSWALK to take place on World AIDS Day
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Published: November 30, 2007
Published: November 30, 2007
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