Aids Walk Philly will retire after 38 years running

The long-running AIDS Walk Philly is officially being retired, capping a 38-year-strong annual tradition that raised millions of dollars for prevention and treatment of HIV over the decades, organizers announced Monday.

“We are incredibly proud to have been part of the impact that AIDS Walk Philly has had over the years in raising awareness and supporting individuals living with HIV,” Action Wellness executive director Mary Evelyn Torres said in a statement. “While we are sad to see this tradition come to a close, we look forward to continuing the work and honor the spirit of the Walk as we serve the community in other ways.”

Action Wellness indicated that while the decision to retire AIDS Walk Philly was a difficult one, it was made after considering “rising costs, limited resources and the shifting landscape of HIV awareness and funding.” Last year, the event’s former organizer, AIDS Fund Philly, closed its doors, citing a dramatically changed landscape for the diagnosis and treatment of HIV and AIDS.

In the wake of AIDS Fund Philly’s closure, oversight of the organization’s events was transferred to Action Wellness, which also works to help people living with HIV. Along with AIDS Walk Philly, it runs the popular GayBINGO! fundraising event series, which is slated to continue.

The event — typically held in mid- to late October — will be replaced with an AIDS Walk Philly retrospective and fundraiser held in partnership with the William Way LGBT Community Center. It will feature exhibits and guided tours highlighting AIDS Walk Philly’s history, and is scheduled to take place Oct. 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the center.

Funds raised at the retrospective event will be split between the center and Action Wellness, and will be used to help people with HIV, as well as those who are at high risk of acquiring the virus. More information about the event is available on the Action Wellness website.

“This is a full circle moment where the evolution of a particular event itself has come to its natural conclusion,” said acting William Way LGBT Community Center executive director Darius McLean. “But the intersection of the work and mission of Action Wellness and William Way continues to be as important today as it has ever been.”

AIDS Walk Philly’s history dates back to 1987, when volunteers at Penguin Place — an early incarnation of what today is William Way — organized its first edition. That inaugural walk raised about $33,000, and the event would go on to become one of the region’s largest HIV/AIDS fundraisers. Over its nearly four-decade run, it raised roughly $18.5 million for HIV services, and attracted tens of thousands of participants annually, Action Wellness said.

In the past decade, HIV and AIDS cases have dropped significantly, and new medications and treatments can make HIV levels undetectable in the bloodstream, and prevent its transmission from person to person. Still, AIDS Walk Philly organizers encouraged the continuation of other support efforts.

“We must all be thankful for the incredible advances in HIV prevention, care, and treatment that have brought us to the point,” former AIDS Fund director Robb Reichard said in a statement. “As we continue to strive towards the ultimate goal of getting to zero, I hope that the community will find other ways to support people living with HIV disease and honor the memory of those we’ve lost to the epidemic.”