Paint It RED: 2015 Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life Kick-Off
- August 30, 2015 ~ Saskatoon | August 26, 2015
On Sunday, August 30th community members will be creating a “Red Ribbon Road” by decorating the 300 block of Saskatoon’s 20th Street West with hundreds of red ribbons. The initiative draws attention to Saskatchewan’s growing HIV epidemic and kicks off the 2015 Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life, a fundraiser that supports local organizations committed to prevention and support work for people affected by and living with HIV/AIDS. “The ribbons are a visual statement of the high rates of HIV in Saskatoon, as well as a reminder that we have to come together as a community to bring these rates down” says Stephanie Norris from AIDS Saskatoon. Saskatchewan’s HIV rate is double the national average while Saskatoon has the highest rates of infection anywhere in the country.
Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life is co-organized by AIDS Saskatoon and OUTSaskatoon (formerly the Avenue Community Centre) and has been taking place in Saskatoon since 1993. When it started, gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men had the highest rates of HIV infection, and although they are still impacted by HIV today, in Saskatoon, Indigenous people are most at risk. “There is often a sense that AIDS is a thing of the past in our community. Well, red ribbon road proclaims loudly that HIV is still very much a part of Saskatoon’s present,” says Rachel Loewen Walker from OUTSaskatoon.
OUTSaskatoon and AIDS Saskatoon invite the public and all Saskatoon media to show their solidarity and support for people living with HIV/AIDS in our community by attending Red Ribbon Road:
When: Sunday, August 30th, 2015
Time: 10:30am – Street Decorating
Where: The Roxy Theatre, 320 – 20th St W, Saskatoon, SK
This year’s AIDS Walk fundraising goal is $36,000 with all funds staying in the community to sustain programming that supports people living with, at risk of, or affected by HIV/AIDS in Saskatoon. Saskatoon’s AIDS Walk will be taking place on Sunday, September 13th, 2015. Anyone can register to walk or donate online.