On Wednesday, April 24, the Multicultural Resource Center will sponsor “Countdown to AIDS Walk” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Union to signup individuals to participate in Charlotte’s annual AIDS Walk on Saturday, May 5.
The April 24 awareness event will include music and entertainment, along with interactive HIV educational displays and presentations.
The Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) has organized a team to participate in AIDS Walk Charlotte for five years; last year, it had the largest group of participants in the event. “
Those who aren’t available to walk on May 5 can ‘sleepwalk.’ They can still sign up to be members of the team,” said Joshua Burford, the MRC’s assistant director of gender and sexual diversity. “All levels of participation and support are welcome.”
The University met its fundraising goal of $2,049 the past several years, and Burford said he hopes for an increase in both fundraising and participation for this year’s walk.
“With Countdown to AIDS Walk, we’re basically taking over the whole Union,” Burford noted. “We’ll have Greek organizations and local bands providing entertainment, and partners from all over campus reading stories of 20-somethings living with or infected with HIV. Just as with the walk itself, our goal is to raise awareness of HIV, how to prevent it and how to treat those in our community who are affected well.”
All proceeds for AIDS Walk Charlotte, one of the largest HIV/AIDS awareness and fundraising events in the Carolinas, go to the Regional AIDS Interfaith Network (RAIN), a local organization working to provide the public with education and improve quality of life for those infected with HIV or AIDS.