Event returns to Piedmont Park Saturday, September 25th
The annual AIDS Walk Atlanta and Music Fest presented by AHF Pharmacy, will return to Piedmont Park, on Saturday, September 25th, after having been canceled last year due to COVID-19 restrictions prohibiting large-scale public gatherings. The event, which attracts thousands of attendees from across the metro Atlanta community, will begin at 10 am EDT starting with a 5K run and walk and culminating with a free concert event.
Now in its 30th year, AIDS Walk Atlanta has become one of the most anticipated outdoor fundraising events in the metro area. Previous artists, including Monica, Erica Campbell, Amara La Negra, Raheem DeVaughn, Mumu Fresh and Grace Gibson, have performed at the AIDS Walk. This year’s event will feature Atlanta’s own award-winning rapper and actor, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, as the headliner as well as R&B vocalist, Sevyn Streeter. With a goal of raising $1 million, this year’s event will provide unrestricted funds to support ten non-profit organizations including AID Atlanta, A Vision for Hope, Center for Black Women’s Wellness, Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Jerusalem House, National AIDS Education & Services for Minorities, Open Hand, Positive Impact Health Centers, Someone Cares, and Thrive SS.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the producer of the annual walk and music fest since 2019, enhances the impact of the fundraising, by contributing a dollar-for-dollar match for all monies raised by each of the benefiting organizations.
“This annual event offers a time to create a greater awareness of the impact of HIV and AIDS on the local Atlanta community, as well as an opportunity to bring together thousands of individuals from across the region to raise critical funds for these 10 worthy organizations,” states Dawn Averill, AHF Atlanta regional director. “AHF is proud to present this event as one of the many ways that we educate and empower the local community to join the fight against HIV and AIDS.”
According to Georgia Department of Public Health, 70% of individuals living with HIV reside in the City of Atlanta. Across the state, Fulton and DeKalb have the highest numbers and rates of persons diagnosed with, and living with HIV with 79% of those diagnosed with HIV being male, 19% female, 2% transgender, with black Americans accounting for the racial group most impacted by HIV.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.6 million individuals in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe.
