Central Michigan AIDS Walk raises $3,872
Volunteers at Saturday's Central Michigan AIDS Walk stressed the message that HIV and AIDS affect people everywhere.
The AIDS Walk took place at 10 a.m. Saturday in Island Park, 331 N. Main St., to spread that message, which extends locally.
“We want to raise awareness that HIV is here, not only in the bigger towns, but right here in our own little community,” said Catrina Weber, a representative for the Central Michigan District Health Department.
The local walk is part of the bigger organization, AIDS Walk Michigan. According to its website, AIDS Walk Michigan is a non-profit organization that began in 1998 to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS and to raise money for local AIDS service organizations in participating Michigan communities. There are seven AIDS Walks in eight cities, all under AIDS Walk Michigan.
About 100 people attended the Central Michigan AIDS Walk, raising $3,872.
Weber said the health department has a lot of programs that help people with HIV.
“I know a lot of people that have HIV and they’re great people,” she said. "They need that extra help monetarily that (is) fundraised and also just knowing that people care about and support them.”
Columbiaville sophomore Alex Middlewood volunteered at the event.
Middlewood said she chose to volunteer because she feels the U.S. needs to be more educated about the disease to come closer to finding a cure.
“People think that HIV/AIDS only effects those in other countries, and that simply isn’t true,” Middlewood said. “(There are) 1.7 million people in the U.S. living with the disease and 21 percent don’t even know they have it.”
Although she said she does not know anyone who has the disease, she said there are 33 million people living with HIV around the world.
“Every minute, five people (in the world) are infected with HIV, and in the U.S. that statistic changes to one person every nine and a half minutes," she said.
