by
Lisa Cisneros
The UCSF School of Pharmacy will have its work cut out as teams begin to form across the campus for the second contest to win the UCSF AIDS Walk Trophy.
This year's event on Sunday, July 16 has special significance, since it is the 20th Annual AIDS Walk San Francisco.
Funds raised will help San Francisco AIDS Foundation and other Bay Area AIDS service organizations, including some at UCSF, maintain essential programs for thousands of men, women and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Last year, more than 25,000 people walked the 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) route through Golden Gate Park and raised more than $3.6 million. For its part, UCSF, which placed fifth overall among other institutions and corporations designated as "gold teams," had 290 walkers, who raised $59723 in 2005. The top four "gold teams" last year were Gap Inc., SBC, Starbucks Coffee Co. and Williams-Sonoma Inc.
Pharmacy school faculty, staff and students, as well as their friends and family, proved to be victorious last year as the winners of the first-ever competition among teams at UCSF.
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The prize for getting the greatest percentage of walkers on a team is a unique kind of trophy, a bronzed running shoe formerly worn by UCSF Chancellor Mike Bishop, MD. Over the past year, the trophy has made the rounds in the pharmacy school so that everyone could savor the success.
The question remains whether the trophy will stay in the School of Pharmacy or whether it will be passed to another winning team as a token of triumph after the 2006 AIDS walk competition.
Another prize, yet to be determined, will be awarded this year to a first-time walker who raises the most money.
Like last year, faculty, staff and students are encouraged to sign up to walk as part of their team on the
AIDS Walk San Francisco website. All UCSF schools, medical center, research and administrative units have been assigned a number, although the campus as a whole is 0089. The following are the designated team numbers:
- • UCSF Friends and Family - 0089
- • UCSF School of Dentistry -0090
- • UCSF School of Medicine - 0091
- • UCSF School of Nursing - 0092
- • UCSF School of Pharmacy - 0093
- • UCSF Chancellor's Office / Finance and Administration
- 0094
- • UCSF Medical Center - 0095
- • UCSF Executive Vice Chancellor - 0096
- • UCSF University Advancement and Planning
- 0097
- • UCSF Positive Health Program - 0098
To join a team, simply go to the
AIDS Walk San Francisco website and click "register now" and then "join a team."
Those who have already registered on their own can just call the AIDS Walk San Francisco office at 415/615-9255 and ask to be transferred to a UCSF team if they choose.
Once registered, the AIDS Walk website becomes a great fundraising tool. Walkers can use it to create a personal webpage and to set and track fundraising goals and achievements. Walkers can also use it to send emails to friends and family, asking them to be a sponsor. Emails sent include a link back to a personal page, where people may support fundraising efforts by using a credit card. The deadline to include funds in a team's total is 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 11.
UCSF walkers should ask whether their spouse or partner works for an employer that has a corporate-giving policy or matching gift program as a way to maximize funds raised.
Those who register with a UCSF team before Sunday, July 1 will get a free breakfast and lunch on the day of walk and a free Team UCSF T-shirt.
UCSF's participation in AIDS Walk San Francisco 2006 is sponsored by UCSF Public Affairs, part of University Advancement and Planning. For questions about the walk, contact
Carol Fox, Public Affairs, at 415/476-8252.
Links:
UCSF Joins Successful AIDS Walk San Francisco
Join the SF AIDS Walk and the UCSF Team
