AIDS Walk LA has been a date on the Los Angeles calendar for the last three decades, and while the date of the mega fundraiser, which will set out along Santa Monica Boulevard on Sunday, Oct. 12, is an important one, the work starts long before the fall event arrives.
It is, in fact, a year-round effort on the part of the many volunteers and organizations who support the walk, and for the people who donate money? That, too, isn't simply about one day on the calendar. Which is all to say this: If you can give the time or the effort and it doesn't happen to be October, that is most excellent. Hooray to that.
And if it happens to be Oct. 12? You can still join in, walk, donate money, join friends as they stroll the 6.2-mile route through West Hollywood (a route that takes about two to three hours, per the AIDS Walk LA site). Colorful t-shirts, balloons, and signs are part of the day's look.
As for the beneficiaries? AIDS Project Los Angeles, or APLA, is a heartbeat for the cause, as are several other local organizations, including South Bay Family Healthcare Center, Camp Laurel, Venice Family Clinic, Project Angel Food, and more.
If you're already registered for the Oct. 12 event, get your parking info, your time-to-be-there stuff, and all of the other doings of the day. Like? Paula Abdul and Drew Carey are set to appear, as well as a bevy of other celebs.
Yep, it's major, but three decades of heartfelt fund-raising and active involvement in clinics and organizations across Southern California has a way of creating an event many SoCalers want to back. So, can you volunteer, walk, donate? On Oct. 12, or any other time of the year?
Because, as with all walks of this magnitude, the big day represents an even bigger swath of time, effort, and people.
