AIDS/LifeCycle Raises $16.3M to Fight HIV/AIDS

This weekend, AIDS/LifeCycle's 2,350 cyclists raised a record-breaking $16.3 million dollars to support San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the HIV/AIDS-related services of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Their achievement shattered last year's amount by more than $800,000, maintaining AIDS/LifeCycle as the world's largest annual HIV/AIDS fundraiser, a seven-day, 545-mile journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

"Participants of AIDS/LifeCycle are sending a powerful message to the entire planet that they will not back down until the HIV epidemic is at an end," said Neil Giuliano, CEO of San Francisco AIDS Foundation. "These record-setting funds mean we will be able to help even more people through our free prevention and care programs, to have broader impacts with our advocacy work, and to improve health for all people living with HIV.

In the seven days it takes the riders to reach Los Angeles, almost 1,000 people in the United States will become infected with HIV. One out of every five people living with HIV nationwide is not aware of their status. Since the ride began as the California AIDS Ride in 1993, participants have raised more than $214 million and completed more than 42,000 journeys on bikes from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

"Each week, about 100 Californians become HIV-positive -- nearly half of them in Los Angeles," said Lorri L. Jean, CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. "Alarmingly, the infection rate among gay and bisexual men, particularly among men of color, is still on the rise. We're making great strides in caring for those living with the disease, but we must prevent new infections. AIDS/LifeCycle not only supports the leading edge medical services of our Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic, it supports our prevention programs, including PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for those at risk of HIV infection."

Despite remarkable progress that has been made since the disease was first discovered in 1981, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is far from over. Currently there are 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS nationwide and more than 50,000 will become newly infected this year.

AIDS/LifeCycle's sponsors are FedEx Corporation, Gilead Sciences, Inc., Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. The official Bike Sponsor is Cannondale.

Now in its 14th year, AIDS/LifeCycle is a fully supported, 545-mile bike ride -- not a race -- that raises important awareness about the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic, in addition to funding services such as HIV testing and screenings for other sexually transmitted infections, HIV medical care, prevention services, and more.

The event raises funds for the Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Since 1969 the Center has cared for, championed and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center's nearly 500 employees and 3,000 volunteers provide services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy. We are an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world; a world in which LGBT people can be healthy, equal and complete members of society. Learn more at lalgbtcenter.org.

No city experienced epidemic levels of HIV faster than San Francisco. San Francisco AIDS Foundation works to end the epidemic where it first took hold, and eventually everywhere. Established in 1982, our mission is to radically reduce new infections in San Francisco. Through education, advocacy, and direct services for prevention and care, we are confronting HIV in communities most vulnerable to the disease. Visit us at sfaf.org

To follow the journey during the week of the ride through pictures, stories, and videos, visit aidslifecycle.org and bit.ly/alc15ete.