Local Individuals Personalize Chicago's Run & Walk for AIDS

Four area residents are sharing publicly their personal battles against HIV/AIDS to rally support for Chicago's Run & Walk for AIDS, a 5K event being held on Chicago's lakefront on Sunday, September 23, 2001. Rae Lewis-Thornton, Edward Negron, Sanford Gaylord, and Anthony King, the event's community spokespeople, are available to members of the media for public comment by contacting David Munar at 312-922-2322 ext. 333.

Speaking at press and community events last week, the spokespeople noted that costs associated with producing the event have been completely underwritten by corporate sponsorship. As a result, every dollar raised will directly support AIDS prevention and care services through the AIDS Foundation of Chicago's (AFC) grantmaking program. AFC has awarded nearly $11 million in grant funds to community-based agencies serving populations disproportionately affected by HIV since 1988.

Chicago Special Events Management, a production firm that owns and operates the event, and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the event's beneficiary, selected each of the four spokespeople in recognition of their individual contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Rae Lewis-Thornton, a nationally recognized motivational speaker who has full-blown AIDS, has been featured on magazine covers, television documentaries, and national news specials discussing the need for HIV prevention and education.

Gay rights and HIV/AIDS advocate Edward Negron is actively involved in prevention education efforts targeting Chicago's teens, with whom he stresses not only the importance of HIV prevention but also the dangers of substance abuse.

Sanford Gaylord, a founding member of the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender performance ensemble A Real Read, has been living with HIV for 12 years. He is an HIV counselor at the Howard Brown Health Center, and was recently profiled by the Chicago Department of Public Health in the Faces of AIDS photo documentary.

Anthony King, a registered nurse with 18 years experience working in the health care field, currently works as a training supervisor at the Midwest AIDS Training and Education Center. Anthony has been HIV-positive for almost five years.

On Sunday, September 23, registration will open at 7 a.m., followed by a non-denominational "Sunrise Celebration of Life Service" at 7:30 a.m. honoring those lost to HIV/AIDS and those living with it.

The 5K Run will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the 5K Walk at 10 a.m. Community spokespeople will lead the walk with local dignitaries and elected officials who make up the 74-person Honorary Committee. A concert headlined by Linda Clifford and The Mighty Blue Kings will follow the Walk. An "AIDS Health Expo," generously underwritten by the Illinois Department of Public Health, will feature Chicago-area non-profit agencies that offer information on specific HIV/AIDS care services around the Chicago metropolitan area.

Event pledge forms are available at various area locations, including Starbucks, Jewel-Osco and other cooperating businesses throughout Chicago and the suburbs. To register, call Chicago Special Events Management at 773-868-3010 or go online at www.chicagorunwalkforaids.org. For information on HIV/AIDS and the organizations AFC supports, call the AIDS Foundation of Chicago at 312-922-2322 or click here.

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