Human AIDS Ribbon Greets Dodger and Mets Fans at Strike Out AIDS
Several hundred volunteers marched onto the field at Dodger Stadium this past Friday, carrying banners and red umbrellas that ultimately formed a human AIDS ribbon. The ribbon, part of "Strike Out AIDS," took place before the Dodgers/New York Mets game which attracted approximately 45,000 attendees.
(PRWEB) August 17, 2005 -- With red umbrellas in hand, volunteers marched on
to the field and formed an AIDS ribbon prior to the start of the Los Angeles
Dodgers-New York Mets game last Friday night. The human AIDS ribbon launched the
5th annual STRIKE OUT AIDS, one of the country’s most unique awareness and
fundraising events, hosted by the Dodgers and The Wall-Las Memorias Project.
Among the “AIDS ribbon” volunteers were individuals and families who
have lost a loved one to AIDS, including lifemates, fathers and mothers, sisters
and brothers, friends and supporters of The Wall Project and its
mission.
Joining the volunteers on the field were honorary co-chairs A.
Martinez, host of KWFB’s Dodger Talk, Apollonia, singer/producer and 1984 Boxing
Olympic gold medal winner Paul Gonzales. Also on the field were representatives
of corporate sponsors: Ida Tagliente, Regional Manager, Public Relations and
Community Affairs for Adelphia, Southern California and Stacy Smithers, Senior
Vice President, Wells Fargo Bank. Special guests included State Senator Gil
Cedillo, Los Angeles Councilman Ed Reyes, acting director of County AIDS
Programs & Policy Mario Lopez, and City of Los Angeles AIDS coordinator
Stephen Simon.
Ms. Tagliente, who is also board chair of The Wall-Las
Memorias Project, believes the red ribbon sends a message to the more than
45,000 fans attending tonight’s game.
"This red ribbon allows families
and friends to publicly celebrate and honor the lives of those we have lost. The
red ribbon also expresses our determination to fight and end
AIDS."
Approximately 2,000 supporters of The Wall-Las Memorias Project
watched the game from a special section in the top deck of Dodger Stadium. A
portion of the ticket sales to these supporters will support the project’s
innovative AIDS education programs.
“Strike Out AIDS is a great way to
promote AIDS awareness among Dodger fans and the world of major league
baseball,” said A. Martinez. “Today we share the message that AIDS affects
everyone, and that no one will be forgotten in our fight against AIDS.”
“One of the most significant ways we can stop AIDS is to end the silence
and the denial that surrounds it,” said Richard Zaldivar, founder and executive
director of The Wall-Las Memorias Project. “With our teammates, the Los Angeles
Dodgers, we are sending a message that we can end this pandemic when we work
together.”
Also an honorary chair of STRIKE OUT AIDS but unable to attend
was actress Lupe Ontiveros of “Desperate Housewives.”
Sponsors of STRIKE
OUT AIDS include Adelphia, Wells-Fargo Bank, CBS 2 and KCAL 9, Los Angeles
Office of AIDS Programs, City of Los Angeles AIDS Coordinators Office, L.A. Care
Health Plan, Hoy, In Magazine, Cable Positive, SBC, Time Warner Cable and
Charter.
The Wall-Las Memorias Project (www.thewalllasmemorias.org), creator of the AIDS monument in
Lincoln Park, is noted for its innovative AIDS education programs that reach out
to Latino communities of faith (Project Faith) and men at high risk (Latino
Men’s Group). Complementing these programs is the AIDS monument, which serves as
tool to educate the public and support families and individuals who have lost a
loved one to AIDS.
The mission of the project is to educate the Latino
community about HIV/AIDS, and the ways that shame, denial and fear contribute to
the spread of HIV.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/8/prweb273280.htm