SF AIDS walk? Or big corporate party?

[March28]

So I ventured out to SF (a few hours away from home) to participate in my first AIDS walk yesterday.

I expected it to be a day of information, stories, great speakers, and really hoped that I would be able to connect with other people or social services in the area to help me process and cope.

Instead, it was just a sea of massive corporate tents with their private breakfasts, a few speakers who almost awkwardly seemed to avoid actually saying the words AIDS or HIV, and a crummy cover band at the finish line.

I totally get that corporate money is crucial for NPOs to function, but it just felt....awkward. I'm wondering if anyone else has ever been to this one and if I'm misreading what I experienced? Maybe there were service booths I didn't find? It all left just a really bad taste in my mouth for some reason that I can't quite find words for.

[leatherman]

I expected it to be a day of information, stories, great speakers, and really hoped that I would be able to connect with other people or social services in the area to help me process and cope.

Instead, it was just a sea of massive corporate tents with their private breakfasts, a few speakers who almost awkwardly seemed to avoid actually saying the words AIDS or HIV, and a crummy cover band at the finish line.

....if I'm misreading what I experienced?

I'd say you misread the event, not your experience. Most "walks" (for whatever disease or cause) are simply fund raising events, with the main focus being the walk itself.... as the money comes from pledges based on the people/miles in the walk.

For example, we recently had an AIDS walk in Charlotte NC. It started with an hour of registration, donations, and several booths. While I helped run the CLT TGA Ryan White program's table (by giving out swag and info), and my provider had an info booth (with swag and info) all the other two dozen tables were corporate sponsors giving out their branded swag or registration tables.

Then there was a 3 minute speaker and the walk began. there was a band playing when we returned from walking around downtown, and a 10 minute recognition program and speaker. I was taking down our table and most people were walking back to their cars; but a fair amount of people stayed for that closing ceremony.

bingo-bango. from starting out by setting up our info table till the police took down the barricades to allow traffic to flow again, the whole shebang lasted from about 8am till noon.


Upper left: the incredible Ryan White CLT TGA table volunteers
Upper Right: My hubby , the RW Quality Management Director  , and me 
Lower Left: me and my honey about to start the walk
Lower Right: about 1/3 of the CLT RW TGA Quality Committee

so while I don't think you understood what the walk experience might be like, I do have to agree with your impressions of it. it should be a day of information, stories, great speakers, and ways to connect with other people or social services in the area (we were certainly explaining the Ryan White Care Act to a lot of people who had no clue); but I think the event is less than that because it's more of a fund-raising/awareness event. I think it takes a grab bag of events to have everything on your list. Pride events and parades often have information and ways to connect. Advocacy events have info, ways to connect, stories, and great speakers. Health fairs have info and ways to connect. Support groups have info, stories and ways to connect.

[March28]

Thanks for the perspective

I'm really engaged in a lot of marches for political activity, and used to be pretty fairly involved in Relay for Life and I guess I just expected it to be more like those events. I'll keep searching around for my people/events lol