Those taking part in Saturday's AIDS Walk Washington will benefit an organization that works extensively for the health of those with AIDS and HIV, as well as D.C.'s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
More than 25 AU students will walk the five-kilometer route, including School of Public Affairs junior Josie Brown.
"I really wanted to participate in the walk this year in particular, since a friend of mine died this past July from HIV-AIDS," Brown said. She added that she first participated in the walk her freshman year as a way to get involved in the community.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that one in 20 people in the D.C. area is HIV-positive, said clinic spokesman Chip Lewis, though there is no formal way to track this.
"The even scarier fact is that over one-third of them don't know it," Lewis said.
The Whitman-Walker Clinic, with locations in the District, Arlington, Va. and Takoma Park, Md., provides a wide range of services to these communities, including long- and short-term medical care for persons with HIV and AIDS, mental health counseling, support groups and AIDS education and prevention programs.
According to Lewis, the clinic receives more than 7,000 clients every year for its various services. Each year, it administers about 6,000 HIV tests, which are anonymous, he said.
Whitman-Walker organizes the AIDS Walk and receives its proceeds. Last year, the walk brought in less than $100,000 in net profits, Lewis said. As of press time, this year's event had raised more than $625,000, $495 coming from the AU team, according to the AIDS Walk Washington Web site (www.aidswalkwashington.org).
Lewis said that Whitman-Walker's services are available to anyone who needs them. Patients are charged according to how much they can pay.
"We do not turn anyone away, regardless of their ability to pay," Lewis said.
He said that while he could not determine exactly how much of Whitman-Walker's budget comes from AIDS Walk proceeds, half of the clinic's budget comes from donations, which include AIDS Walk proceeds.
"It's one of our biggest fund-raisers, one we definitely count on," Lewis said.
However, he said that the walk is not just about money.
"It's an opportunity to remind people that [AIDS is] still there and it's still a problem," Lewis said, who believes that many people are complacent about the threat of HIV and AIDS. "People are still getting sick. People are still dying."
In addition to donations, volunteers help keep Whitman-Walker going.
"We offer all sorts of opportunities" for volunteering, Lewis said. The clinic's volunteers range from attorneys to people who work in the clinic's food bank to those who help with administrative work.
He said that prospective volunteers could contact the program they would like to work with by e-mail or telephone.
Brown encourages AU students to get involved in the walk, but also to help persons with AIDS all year long.
"I hope it'll be an outlet for AU students to get involved in the community and as a larger goal to raise money to find a cure for AIDS," said Brown.
The walk will kick off at 11 a.m. on Oct. 4 at the Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue.
