Tough Times Didn't Break Stride in San Francisco AIDS Walk

Members of the extended UCSF community, including their families and friends, on Sunday joined with 25,000 other people to fill Golden Gate Park to raise money for research and treatment programs for those who are living with HIV/AIDS and to help prevent new HIV infections.

“You helped make a powerful statement, and your fundraising efforts helped us raise $3,502,729 for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and 63 other Bay Area HIV/AIDS organizations,” AIDS Walk organizers said on Monday. “Thank you for making this year’s AIDS Walk San Francisco such a success!”

While donations are still coming in, the amount raised so far is a million short of the near-record $4.5 million that was raised in AIDS Walk San Francisco 2008. But the crowds gathered in Sharon Meadow looked just as large and seemed as spirited as in previous years.

For its part, the UCSF contingent, consisting of nine separate teams and more than 200 walkers and volunteers, raised about $30,000. That’s down from the $53,000 that UCSF collectively raised in 2008 when it finished in 10th place among the top fundraising teams in AIDS Walk San Francisco.

In the friendly campus team competition for the coveted AIDS Walk Trophy, preliminary results show that the new UCSF Global Health Sciences team is in the lead with $6,270 raised as of July 20. The UCSF School of Medicine team is in second place with $5,977 raised, and the UCSF School of Pharmacy team is in third place with $4,833 raised so far.

Down, But Not Out

Donations were expected to be down this year due to the downturn in the economy, which affects everyone – especially those UCSF employees who will see their salaries cut anywhere from 4 percent to 10 percent beginning September 1. All UC employees were informed of the pay cuts following the UC Regents’ vote on July 16 to approve a furlough program as one way to offset an anticipated $813 million reduction from the state general fund in support of UC’s 10-campus system.

Despite that bad news about UC’s budget, UCSF faculty and staff still shared conversation, danced to the music, walked the six-mile trek and ate lunch in the park, some grateful to still have a job. Many veteran AIDS walk participants were happy to see the cold, gray fog give way to sunny blue skies about midday. In years past, weather for the AIDS walk had been characteristically chilly for summer in the City by the Bay.

Even an employee who was recently laid off at UCSF volunteered her time, along with about 60 others who checked in walkers and handed out T-shirts and boxed lunches to the UCSF participants.

Showing his team pride and sense of humor was James Betbeze, director of admissions for the UCSF School of Dentistry, who donned his “Minty Fresh” costume, which made him look like a giant tube of toothpaste.

On a more serious note, many participants are drawn to the event every year to honor their loved ones who died of AIDS.

Vera Harrell, an administrative assistant in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and members of her family wore T-shirts in memory of Vern Kittling, her twin brother, who died of AIDS.

“I participated in the AIDS Walk in memory of my twin brother, Vern Kittling who passed away of AIDS,” Harrell says. “He was involved in AIDS research and did everything he could to contribute to research including voluntarily participating in AIDS studies as a human research subject. This year, two of my daughters and a niece joined the AIDS Walk in honor of Vern Kittling, my loving twin brother. Each year, I will bring one more family member.”

Edgar Micua, who served on the UCSF AIDS Walk Steering Committee and led the UCSF School of Medicine team, says the event is a tradition. “Every year I participate in the AIDS walk to honor my dear friends and family who have been affected by this epidemic,” he says. “Raising money and awareness for this cause is very important to me and gives me reason to smile because the funds we raise will keep HIV/AIDS programs alive for people who need help in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.”

Jennifer Dowd, who also served on the steering committee and led the Campus Life Services team, recalls her late friend and UCSF colleague Red Mangio, well known for his passion in the fight to combat the disease. “There are a lot of familiar faces that keep coming back year after to year, both walkers and volunteers, to honor his memory and continue his commitment to the UCSF AIDS Walk team. He would be very proud of that.”

Over the next few weeks, UCSF team leaders and representatives of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation will work to collect outstanding pledges for AIDS Walk San Francisco.
Prizes for the top fundraising team and the individual who raised the most money will be announced next month in UCSF Today.

A limited supply of the official UCSF AIDS Walk San Francisco T-shirts are still available for $10 each, with proceeds going to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. On Sunday, UCSF sold only a handful of leftover T-shirts for the cause. To buy one, please contact Lisa Cisneros, UCSF AIDS Walk coordinator.

Photos by Susan Merrell

Related Link:

Campus Mourns Loss of UCSF Cheerleader
UCSF Today, Aug. 9, 2006