California: AIDS Walk San Francisco
Question: How do you raise $2.7 million in one day?
Answer: Get 40,000 feet involved.
Add to that about 850 companies, 1,500 volunteers, dozens of dogs, and a few celebrities, all crowding into Golden Gate Park for a 10K walk on a cool and sunny summer Sunday morning in one of this diverse city’s biggest annual fund-raising events. There was even a condom cape.
My first visit to San Francisco coincided with the 26th annual event. When we found out two of the stars of “Glee” would be there to support the cause, we decided to check out the spectacle. On the main stage for the opening ceremony were Dot-Marie Jones and Harry Shum Jr.; veteran actor Hal Linden with his co-stars from “The Scottsboro Boys,” which was playing in the city; “Dancing With the Stars” pro Anna Trebunskaya; and other celebrities and politicians. This was my second Harry Shum sighting of the year. I got to meet him after a performance at Second City in Hollywood a few months earlier.
People from all walks of life filled the park to raise money for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, which distributes money to Bay Area groups that offer free health screenings and needle exchanges, and help find housing, support, and health care for people with HIV or AIDS. About 50 groups benefit from the walks, which have raised more than $77 million since 1987.
