This will be my 10th year doing AIDS Walk LA. In 1999, I think I raised around $500. Since then, this has become my one major fundraising effort each year, assisted in large part by the fact that my employer matches every dollar I raise in pledges.
I walk in memory of two friends, Corey Ford and Neil Rabin, in honor of other friends living with HIV, and on behalf of millions of other people's loved ones. If you have your own losses, you understand. If you're lucky enough not to have lost a friend to AIDS, give thanks... and either way, please give money, if you can.
The money raised by AIDS Walk LA benefits AIDS Project Los Angeles and other AIDS service organizations across Los Angeles County, to provide services for thousands of people living with AIDS/HIV, promote HIV-prevention activities, and support AIDS education and policy activism on the local, state, and national level. For more details on the projects AIDS Walk LA funds, click
here.
My friends have been very generous in the past (thanks to you I was OMG the 35th-highest fundraiser last year--no,
really!), and I appreciate it more than I can say. (I don't get anything special for being in the top 100, but it was a very nice surprise when they told me.)
I know times are tight, and we're all watching our budgets, and that means that to meet my goal this year I will probably have to get smaller pledges from more people than in past years. Still, I am confident I can do it. If you can contribute--even a little bit--I hope you will. My fundraising goal this year is $2,500 ($5,000 after the employer match!). You can pledge by credit card ($25 and up)
here, or if you want to send me a check (any amount, payable to AIDS Walk LA), please leave a comment or email me at without_me at LJ and let me know how to get you my contact information. If you feel comfortable doing so, you can also Paypal me cash (not credit card payments) to contribute on your behalf, using the without_me at LJ addy. (Naturally, I don't encourage people to do this if they have any concern or doubt that I will make the donation.)
No matter how you contribute, if you pledge through me your dollars will be matched by my employer, so your donations will go twice as far. Every $5 or $10 helps! (And if you can give more, of course, that would be wonderful.)
If you'd like to help without making a donation, or in addition to whatever donation you do make, please feel free to spread the word, pointing people to this post and/or to
my AIDS Walk fundraising page. With your support, I can easily reach my goal and help further this important cause. THANK YOU.