The 13th annual AIDS Walk is expected to draw thousands this weekend.
The 10K (6.2 mile) AIDS Walk, held in major cities across the country throughout the year, comes Sunday to Madison.
AIDS Walk was held in Madison for the first time last year, with 1,500 walkers raising $130,000 for AIDS organizations in Wisconsin.
The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin and AIDS Network put together the Madison walk.
AIDS Network development coordinator Stuart Kipnis said AIDS Network received $45,000 last year from the walk, which funded emergency financial assistance for AIDS victims.
“The money went to our clients who were experiencing a major crisis, like not having enough food,” Kipnis said. He said the money also provided money for AIDS victims needing medical vouchers and taxi rides to the hospital and also for programs staffed by UW students.
“The money helped support volunteer programs in which UW-Madison students work with our clients,” Kipnis said.
The Madison AIDS Walk in conjunction with the Milwaukee AIDS Walk is the largest AIDS fundraiser in Wisconsin. Last year a total of 4000 walkers raised $621,000.
NBC 15’s Mike McKinney will speak at the walk’s opening ceremonies in the Olin-Turville Park on the west side of Monona Lake at 12 p.m.
The walk route will wind around Lake Monona up to the Capitol and down State Street. Bands will perform at a rest stop on Library Mall from 12:30 to 1:30.
Kipnis said people who still want to walk do not need to register or raise pledges.
“The walk is an awareness-raiser as much as it is a fundraiser,” Kipnis said.
