AIDS Walk 2007

Friends,
I know a lot of you don't have a great deal of money to throw around (I'm right there with you.) But, I really feel that the AIDS Crisis is too big to be fought only by the well-off. That is why I'm walking this year, and that is why I hope that you will pledge any small amount of money you can to me and, by extension, to the organizations and people who benefit from the money raised.

I'd be willing to bet that all of you know at least one person who has been infected with HIV/AIDS...some of you may be infected yourselves; you may have felt the nervousness and anticipation that comes from being tested, the panic that comes when you weren't as careful as you usually are, just that once; you may know the whirlwind of emotions that comes when someone you love tells you he or she has an incurable illness.

We live in a wonderful time, because progress has been made and continues to be made: Some studies estimate that newly-infected people can live for thirty years or more after infection. But the medicine is expensive, it can carry terrible side effects, and it does not work for everyone. There is no way to lead a totally "normal" life with HIV. If it isn't the medication, it's the constant need to monitor one's health. If it isn't the financial cost, it's the psychic cost: a fear every time you make a new friend or make a new date. All one has to do to understand that particular burden is to go to any number of dating sites where prospective mates say loudly and rudely and without the slightest bit of compassion or self-awareness, "Negative only."

Every day more progress is made. More medicines are developed, vaccines are tested, and even when they fail, they give researchers new leads to follow. But this can only continue if we all do what we can. Those people who don't have the means to take care of themselves can only be taken care of if we all do what we can. This crisis can only end IF WE ALL DO WHAT WE CAN.

So, help me do what I can. Or make a donation to another walker, or a donation directly to the AIDS Walk site. Walk yourself. Form a team. Volunteer on the day of the walk and in the days leading up to it. This isn't about my ego- that's why I've set a relatively low "goal." This is about the people around you. DO WHAT YOU CAN.
You can donate at my page: http://aidswalknewyork2007.kintera.org/chrisstansfield
Thank you.
Love,
Chris

© 2007, Christopher Stansfield. Some rights reserved. This work is licensed to the public under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License, and may only be distributed according to the terms of said license. To view a copy of this license, please click here.