13th Annual Florida AIDS Walk & Music
Festival on Sunday, March 18th, will benefit 10 non-profits that
provide HIV/AIDS services to South Florida is set to raise over
$1.7 million toward the fight against HIV/AIDS. Festival will
include award-winning artist Flo Rida as well as students from
Stoneman Douglas High School. Last year’s Walk raised over $1.5
million.
As the state of Florida continues to lead the nation in new
rates of HIV diagnoses, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the
world’s largest HIV/AIDS service organization, with a strong
presence in South Florida, will once again host the Florida AIDS
Walk and Music Festival – an annual 5K walk to raise funds for
HIV/AIDS services throughout Florida. With an estimated attendance
of over 3,000 participants from across the region, this annual
event will raise over $1.7 million to support 10 local non-profit
organizations that are working to address the increasing HIV/AIDS
epidemic plaguing South Florida.
Scheduled for Sunday, March 18, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. on
beautiful Fort Lauderdale Beach, the event will kick off with a
very special musical presentation of the national anthem by
students from Stoneman Douglas High School, the South Florida high
school that recently experienced mass tragedy due to gun violence.
The Walk & Festival will culminate with a high energy concert
from the Deep Fried Funk Band and the internationally
acclaimed, award-winning artist, Flo Rida. Presented by
Wells Fargo and AHF Pharmacy, the Florida AIDS Walk, now one of the
region’s highly anticipated outdoor events, is aimed at increasing
South Florida’s awareness, prevention, and treatment efforts
against the spread of HIV.
NOTE TO MEDIA: Media interested in covering the event
should check in at the Media Check-In Table on Sunday, no later
than 10:45 a.m. Journalists interested in interviews can
contact: Imara Canady at 954-952-0258 or via email at
imara.canady@aidshealth.org.
WHAT:
13th Annual Florida AIDS Walk & Music
Festival presented by AHF Pharmacy and Wells Fargo
WHEN:
Sunday, March 18, 2018
• 9:00 a.m. – Pre-Program Begins
NOTE:
Stoneman Douglas students’ presentation
will take place at approx. 9:45 a.m.
• 10:00 a.m. – Walk begins
• 11:00 a.m. – Post-Walk Concert
Begins
NOTE:
Flo Rida is scheduled to perform at
12:15 p.m.
WHERE:
Fort Lauderdale Beach (Across from the
Bahia Mar Hotel)
WHO:
Michael Weinstein, President, AIDS
Healthcare Foundation
Michael Kahane, Southern Bureau
Chief, AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Flo Rida, Multi-award-winning
Artist
Students from Stoneman Douglas High
School
Representatives from 10 benefiting
organizations
And over 3,000 local South Florida
residents
“Since its inception, this annual event has been a great source
of raising awareness of the HIV epidemic that’s plaguing our
community, while also galvanizing community support, from some
great corporate partners and thousands of individuals, around
raising significant dollars to support 10 non-profit organizations
that are committed to addressing this crisis,” said Michael Kahane,
Southern Bureau Chief for AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “We are
pleased that Flo Rida has agreed to join us again, and given that
advocacy is a key tenet to AHF’s mission, we are honored to have
the courageous students from Stoneman Douglas on the program.”
Now in its 13th year, The Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival
has featured an array of award-winning artists, including
Salt-N-Pepa, DNCE, The Go-Go’s, The B-52’s and Chaka Khan.
Annually, this impactful and fun-filled event attracts a diverse
array of groups and individual participants and raises millions of
dollars to support local, non-profit agencies in south Florida that
are working to address the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic plaguing the
area. Beyond its fundraising element, the event helps to remind the
community that HIV/AIDS is still impacting our community by
increasing the community’s awareness, education, and prevention
efforts all with the objective of reducing the spread of HIV.
Organizations benefiting from the 2018 event
include:SAVESUNSHINE SOCIAL SERVICES, INC.THE POVERELLO CENTERTHE
PRIDE CENTER AT EQUALITY PARKLATINOS SALUDTHE WORLD AIDS MUSEUM AND
EDUCATIONAL CENTERPRIDELINESOASIS FLORIDAURBAN LEAGUE OF BROWARD
COUNTY
Registration for the walk & music festival is available at
www.floridaaidswalk.org.
HIV/AIDS in
FLORIDA:
According to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC):
- Florida ranked 1st among the 50 states
in the number of HIV diagnoses;
- Three Florida cities made the top 15
cities nationally, when it comes to number of people with HIV.
Miami is at the top of the list, with Jacksonville
and Orlando at the 10th and 11th spots, respectively;
and
- Miami-Dade and Broward counties ranked
top in the nation of new HIV diagnoses.
About AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)
In 1987, a group of activists founded AIDS Hospice Foundation in
Los Angeles to provide a final resting place for terminally ill
AIDS patients. Three years later, as lifesaving antiretroviral
medical therapy was introduced, AIDS Hospice Foundation changed its
name to AIDS Healthcare Foundation in 1990 to signify its new focus
on being a medical provider to people living with HIV/AIDS.
AHF funds its mission to rid the world of AIDS through a network
of pharmacies, thrift stores, healthcare contracts and other
strategic partnerships. Today, as the largest global AIDS
organization, AHF currently provides medical care and/or services
to over 885,000 individuals in 39 countries worldwide in the US,
Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and
Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website:
www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us @aidshealthcare.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180317005046/en/
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) – Southern BureauW. Imara
Canady, 954-952-0258Regional Director, Communications &
Community EngagementImara.Canady@aidshealth.org