Washingtonians Gather, In Support of HIV/AIDS Cause

The mixture of rain and snow showed no signs of letting up and the cold wind continued to briskly blow on the morning of October 29th. In spite of this, thousands of people pushed on showing up to walk for the cause in the 25th annual AIDS Walk Washington.

Despite the weather Odunjo Copeland, a senior telecommunication management major at Howard University, felt the walk was a nice experience.

This was Copeland second year participating in the event. This year he walked with fourteen of his fraternity brothers from the Beta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. They raised $906 for the cause.  

"I enjoyed the diverse group of people," said he said. "It is a universal thing and everyone is fighting for the cause"

AIDS Walk Washington is a fundraising walk and 5k timed run benefiting and produced by Whitman-Walker Health, a non-profit community-based health organization which provides dependable, high-quality, comprehensive and accessible health care to those infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Howard University Chapter of Target H.O.P.E. community service organization was also present at the walk. Current vice-president, Kiara Brumfield, a junior biology major, stated:

 "This was my first time participating in the walk and I absolutely enjoyed it. I have to admit twenty minutes into the walk, I was soaked and wanted to go home, but I remember that people infected with HIV and AIDS go through much worse and if they can keep going so can I."

"This is my fifteenth year in the walk," said Scott Sibley who helped coordinate the walk as registration manager. Ironically, Sibley joined the walk by mistake.

In 1996, Sibley, who was in the Marines then, traveled to Washington D.C. to volunteer in the annual Heart Walk presented by the American Heart Association. Sibley confesses that he got the two walks dates mixed up and "spent the entire day" with AIDS Walk Washington. He came back every year then after.

With news of the dreary weather early that morning, Sibley was very concerned about the turn out for the walk. However the walk is a rain or shine event and people turned out even in the rain.

"Seeing the support from the community shows that the community supports the cause, he said.  "This walk is an anniversary for the record books."

First time walker, Shawn P. Spencer, a member of Us Helping Us, People into Living, Inc., walks because he lost four family members to the disease. He felt it was personal for him to be there, sharing in those moments.

Running off little sleep from having to work the night before, Spencer states that his shoes were soaked from the rain, but that it was truly worth it.

Having no sleep the night before in fear of over sleeping the walk, Reverend J. Jones Sr. participated in the walk with the Community Church of Washington D.C.  "It was a family affair," he stated. His team was made up of twenty-one relatives and church members.

In efforts to prevent the spread of the virus and disease, Reverend Jones believes that the community can provide more education, support groups and outreach.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the District of Columbia is leading in HIV ranks--- one out of every 20 adults in Washington D.C. are HIV-positive, Spencer states that the percentage of those affected "is a sad shame." He hope there will one day be a cure.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention most recent report stated that at the end of 2008, a total of 16,513 people were living with HIV/AIDS in the District.

 The agency also reported that in the United States HIV/AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 550,000 Americans. Today, about 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and one fifth of those infected are unaware of their infection.

AIDS Walk Washington official website listed the following statistics:

In DC, African-Americans account for three out of every four cases of HIV/AIDS. They also reported one in seven gay and bisexual men in DC has HIV. More so, one in three gay and bisexual Black men in DC has HIV.

Although the weather put a damper in the walker turnout, AIDS Walk Washington 2011 was still a success. The walk set a fundraising goal of one million dollars. As of the morning of October 29th, $836,088 had been raised. The website has yet been updated with the final amount.