More than 30,000 walkers participated
in Sunday's AIDS Walk Los Angeles, including Glee co-star Dot
Marie Jones, talk show host Carson Kressley, NCIS co-star
Pauley Perrette and The Price Is Right host Drew Carey.
The 27th annual walk raised
more than $3 million to benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and
24 other Los Angeles County AIDS service organizations working to
stop the spread of HIV.
“Overcoming economic challenges that
continue to hit especially hard here in Southern California, our
30,000 participants filled the streets and raised $3,005,014 to fight
AIDS and provide vital care for people living with HIV,” said Craig
R. Miller, founder and producer of AIDS Walk Los Angeles. “We are
deeply grateful to them, and their tens of thousands of donors, for
reaching out and making a powerful statement. We are our brother's
keeper—we are our sister's keeper.”
“As we mark the 30th year of the
epidemic in the United States, AIDS Walk Los Angeles remains a
critical – and, in fact, the single largest – source of support
for those who rely on APLA's services,” said Craig E. Thompson,
executive director of AIDS Project Los Angeles. “With their
incredible fundraising, AIDS Walk Los Angeles participants are
changing lives, powering prevention efforts, and supporting advocacy
work to defend the civil rights of all who live with this
still-deadly disease.”
Also in attendance were California
State Assembly Speaker John A. Perez, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa, The Real World: D.C.'s Mike Manning, comedian
Hal Sparks and television host Jai Rodriguez.