For Immediate Release
May 21, 2007
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Press Contacts:
Noel Alicea (GMHC): 212.367.1216 | 917.583.6657 (cell)
Joshua Tjaden (AWNY): 212.807.9255 | 917.683.5464 (cell)
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AIDS WALK NEW YORK RAISES
RECORD-SETTING $6.857 MILLION
WORLD'S LARGEST AIDS FUNDRAISER DRAWS 45,000
PARTICIPANTS, HOST OF CELEBRITIES
New York, NY — The 22nd Annual AIDS Walk New York, on Sunday May 20,
was the largest and most successful AIDS Walk ever held, setting records
for both participation and fundraising. Organizers announced that 45,000
walkers helped to raise a grand total of $6,857,527.
"New York showed its strong support for Gay Men's Health Crisis
(GMHC)," said AIDS Walk Founder and Producer Craig R. Miller. "We
all took to the streets to raise a record-setting $6.8 million to
support people living with HIV/AIDS in New York City and to fund
the critical HIV prevention programs needed to stop new infections."
"The phenomenal success of AIDS Walk represents teamwork at
its essence. None of us walks alone, and the success of AIDS Walk
is a testament to our ability to work, walk, and succeed together,"
said Marjorie J. Hill, Chief Executive Officer of GMHC. "AIDS Walk
is proof that New Yorkers care very deeply about AIDS here in New York
City, the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S."
AIDS Walk opening ceremonies featured the participation of Oscar
winner Whoopi Goldberg, Grammy winner Cyndi Lauper, T.R. Knight
(Grey's Anatomy), Lance Bass ('N Sync), Alan Cumming (X2, Cabaret),
B.D. Wong (Law & Order: SVU), Jason Steed (Noah's Arc), and Emmy-winning
writer/actor Bruce Vilanch, with special musical performances by the
cast of A Chorus Line, and Stephanie J. Block (The Pirate Queen), who
sang "You'll Never Walk Alone," the AIDS Walk theme song.
AIDS Walk New York benefits GMHC and more than 50 other local AIDS organizations.
"These dollars permit us to provide innovative direct service programs,
outreach and education to hundreds of thousands, and fierce public policy
leadership at all levels of government," said Robert E. Bank, Esq., Chief
Operating Officer at GMHC. "We are grateful to our corporate and individual
donors, media sponsors, and especially to the tens of thousands of New Yorkers
who make this event the largest gathering of AIDS activists in the world."
* * *
About GMHC: GMHC is a not-for-profit, volunteer-supported and
community-based organization committed to national leadership in the
fight against AIDS. Its mission is to reduce the spread of HIV disease,
help people with HIV maintain and improve their health and independence,
and keep the prevention, treatment and cure of HIV an urgent national
and local priority. GMHC provides services and programs to over 15,000
men, women and families that are living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in
New York City, and outreach and education to hundreds of thousands
throughout the world. For more information about GMHC programs and
services, please visit www.gmhc.org.
About MZA Events: AIDS Walk New York was founded
in 1986 by Craig R. Miller and his organization of activists, MZA Events.
Miller is the originator of the AIDS Walk fundraising model and has raised
nearly $300 million for leading AIDS charities nationwide. Miller and MZA
have produced this landmark event every spring for the past twenty-two years.
© 2007 Gay Men's Health Crisis
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