AIDS Walk Boston is a walkathon fundraiser hosted annually in Boston, Massachusetts to benefit

AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts Founded in 1983, AIDS Action Committee (AAC) of Massachusetts is a not-for-profit, community-based health organization whose mission is to stop the epidemic and related health inequities by eliminating new infections, maximizing healthier outcomes ...

(AAC), New England's oldest and largest not-for-profit AIDS service organization. AAC's mission is to stop the epidemic by preventing new

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

infections and optimizing the health of those already infected.

About

Event

AIDS Walk Boston is always held on the first Sunday in June. It begins and ends at the DCR Hatch Shell on the Charles River Esplanade, with the actual route following a 10K path through the cities of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Brookline, and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. Concurrent with the Walk is the Larry Kessler 5K Run, a 5K race along the banks of the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles b ...

. Awards are given out to the winners of each age group. Upon completion of the Walk, participants are welcomed back to the DCR Hatch Shell with the Wellness Festival, a celebration of healthy living.

Online Community

AIDS Walk Boston has an online community to connect and communicate with participants in a variety of different ways.
AIDS Walk Boston Blog

AIDS Walk Boston Facebook Fan Page

AIDS Walk Boston on Twitter

AIDS Action Committee on YouTube

AIDS Action Committee Facebook Cause

Volunteering

AIDS Walk Boston relies on the help of hundreds of volunteers. These volunteers perform a number of different duties, such as handing out snacks and refreshments, taking pictures, and directing walkers along the route, to help serve over 10,000 participants for AIDS Walk Boston and the Larry Kessler 5K Run every year.

Fundraising

Fundraising is the central focus of AIDS Walk Boston. Participants are encouraged to engage in peer-to-peer fundraising, and are given many different tools to do so, including a personal fundraising page and a Facebook fundraising application. AIDS Walk Boston also works with corporate sponsors who support the programs and services of AAC and form teams to do fundraising of their own.

History

AIDS Walk Boston was started in 1986 as a grassroots community event. AIDS Walk Boston 2010 will be the 25th annual Walk, and it will be held on June 6, 2010. Some important milestones in the history of AIDS Walk Boston:"AIDS Walk Boston History," http://www.aac.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AIDSWALK_history , 02 Sept 2009 * 1986 - First AIDS Walk Boston, then named "From All Walks of Life," is held on

Boston Common The Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street (139 Tremont St.), Park Street, Beac ...

. The song "

That's What Friends Are For "That's What Friends Are For" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded in 1982 by Rod Stewart for the soundtrack of the film '' Night Shift'', but it is better known for the 1985 cover version by Dionn ...

," popularized by Dionne Warwick, becomes the Walk's signature anthem, and has been sung at every Walk since the beginning. * 1988 - The Walk grosses over $1 million: 12,000 walkers participated and raised $1.3 million. * 1988 - "

" is simulcast live on over 15 radio stations across Massachusetts in honor of the Walk. * 1993 - The Walk has its biggest year ever, as 35,000 dedicated participants raised more than $3 million for AIDS Action. * 1994 - "From All Walks of Life" is officially renamed "AIDS Walk Boston." * 1997 - The location of AIDS Walk Boston is moved from the Common to the Hatch Memorial Shell on the

Esplanade. * 1997 - Information about the Walk is posted online for the first time. * 2001 - A 5K Run is added to the Walk, allowing those who prefer to run an opportunity to show their support. * 2001 - The Walk website
www.aidswalkboston.org
is launched and online donations are accepted. * 2005 - On the 20th Anniversary of the Walk, the "From All Walks of Life" brand and four faces logo are reintroduced. * 2006 - The 5K Run is renamed The Larry Kessler 5K Run, in tribute to AIDS Action's Founding Director,

Larry Kessler Larry Kessler is the Founding Director of the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, an agency that has served over half of all people diagnosed with AIDS in Massachusetts, educated generations about the disease, and secured progressive city, stat ...

. * 2009 - The Larry Kessler 5K Run sees a record number of participants with over 650 runners from 15 different states. Since the beginning of AIDS Walk Boston, over 200,000 people have participated, raising over $30 million total for the programs and services of AIDS Action Committee.

Notes

External links

AIDS Action Committee of MA

AIDS Walk Boston Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aids Walk Boston Health-related fundraisers Challenge walks HIV/AIDS activism HIV/AIDS in the United States Annual events in Boston