This is a slightly revised version of a diary I put up a couple of weeks ago. I got an e-mail from the Walk that the first 25 donations of $100 would be matched today, so I'm really trying to kick it up a notch today. Please, if you can donate $100, this morning is the time, because you'll double your donation!
I was on such a high after convention week - all those amazing speeches, and seeing my friends on TV, it has been great. I was so proud, watching Joe Biden & Barack Obama give great speeches, and grateful that I like in the country that elected them.
Another great thing that happened that week- the 25th anniversary party for AIDS Walk Austin. Yep, it has been 25 years & we've come a long way, but not nearly far enough. Come with me below the squiggly thing & I'll tell you why you should donate $25 $100 to my AIDS Walk Austin page. Obviously all donations are more than welcome, if you want to give $5, I'll thank you, too. It is just that the larger donations are matched today.
So, 25 years. Twenty five years. And I've walked every year. Through the years when the Walk was protested by a (very small) band of sad, pathetic people. Through the years when it has been in the upper 90s, and the year a cold front blew in the night before & it (felt like it was) freezing & pouring rain. Every time. Because the agencies this raises money for help people every day. You donate today, and the next foodbank day there is more food for them to distribute. You donate today and there are more materials for the people doing outreach at their next event. Real people are helped right now, because of your donations.
People seem to think there's a cure, or that people are already educated & aren't getting the disease any more. This is not true. There is no cure. There are drugs that can make it manageable, but they are damn expensive, and not everyone gets them. People don't know their status, because they don't know they need to get tested (because we need to do more outreach). People get tested too late - the director of AIDS Services of Austin said last night that there have been cases recently where young people were diagnosed with not just HIV infection, but with fully developed AIDS. And only 1/3 of all HIV-infected people get anti-retroviral therapy. AIDS Services of Austin, the Wright House Wellness Center, Waterloo Counseling, and the other beneficiary agencies need your money to educate people and get them the meds they need. So, yeah, I'm asking that you dig deep and donate $25 $100 for my 25 years of walking to my AIDS Walk Austin page . Because it isn't for me, it's for L, who needs the meds. It is for those young & maybe foolish teenagers who need to be told that AIDS is still out there and yes, they can get it. It is for people who are barely hanging on and need the food from the foodbank so they can keep their nutrition up so they can take their meds.
This walk isn't about depression or scaring people, it is a wonderful coming together of the community, and celebrating what we have done (I mean, 25 years!) and what we can do. We can help people, we can prevent the spread of AIDS, and some day we will see it end. So please donate $25 $100 to my AIDS Walk Austin page. The joy of the Walk is seen in this year's logo - here's a picture of a cookie I bought at the party last week, with the logo on it, isn't it gorgeous?
And because it's Friday Monday & I'm feeling revved up I need to be energized & ready to take on both the hard work of being the top fundraiser this year, and the work it'll take for Democrats to win across the board in November, here's the Dropkick Murphys, with the song they played at the Wisconsin protests:
All donations are welcome, not just the $100 ones. I'm just emphasizing that number because today they go twice as far.