It
was a great pleasure to participate
in this year's
AIDS Walk Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
I can't thank my family and friends
enough for your support. I far exceeded
my goal and was quite humbled by
your generosity! Teresa and me signed
up to walk with our family from
Team Camp Heartland. We raised over
$400 for our collective efforts.
It was nice to see many friends
from Camp as well as to meet new
friends and supporters of camp.
It was nice to chat briefly with
Doug Nelson and Roma Hansen from
ARCW. It was also an extreme
honor to say hello to Governor Jim
Doyle again. I had not seen
Mr.
Doyle since we were onstage together
for the 2003 Walk. The day started
off quite rainy but before stepping
off for the official walk, the skies
parted and it turned out to be beautiful
and warm. Thankfully we chose to
do the 5K, as I'm not sure who was
dragging more, Raf Jack or Da Pirate.
The walk was a bit time consuming
as walker after walker had to pet
and a gander at
Rafiki (Raf Jack).
He thoroughly enjoyed the attention
per usual. We spent the remainder
of the walk having a nice chat and
stroll with the Willensons.
Rafiki
was truly a champ and finished in
fine form. Meanwhile I was dragged
to the finish on leash. The walk
raised a whopping $402,366.00! Thank
you again to all who donated and
helped to make the walk possible!
Da Pirate and
Teresa enjoying some time with Neil Willenson
(Founder and CEO of
Camp Hearltland) and Wife Adria at AIDS Walk Wisconsin.
In
2007, 407 new cases of HIV infection were reported in Wisconsin
9,929
cases of HIV infection have been reported in Wisconsin since 1983
Approximately 6,295 people are
presumed living with HIV/AIDS in Wisconsin today
18% of new HIV cases were among young
people ages 15-24
21% of new HIV cases were among women
Race/ethnic minorities comprise only
12% of the Wisconsin population, but 54% of all HIV cases reported in
2007 were members of racial/ethnic minorities
In 2007, 69% of all new HIV cases were
among gay men
Experts
estimate that 1 in 4 individuals living with HIV are unaware of their
status
HIV is a
disease that affects people regardless of age, gender, race,
socioeconomic status and sexual orientation
HIV
infections have been reported in all 72 counties in Wisconsin, with
concentration in Milwaukee County
Nearly 40% of HIV patients have no
health care coverage
Over 50% of HIV patients cannot afford
their HIV medications
