Walked bleary-eyed through Sea-Tac airport at 4:30 this morning, spotted this poster, stopped in my tracks and smiled.
For a split second I thought I was dreaming of a time when AIDS was the spotlight pandemic in the news, on the lips of celebrities and forced onto politic agendas. When AIDS essentially wiped out an entire generation of income-earners, leaving elderly parents to raise their orphaned grandchildren and too many adult children to die alone, discarded by fearful or ashamed family and friends. 40 years of tenacious advocacy, research, trial and error have yielded amazing results that do make me smile, big.
Yet you know me so you know it's not enough. I'm a finisher. If a goal is worthy of my time, I'll hit the impossible deadline, take on extra work, publicly share my vulnerabilities, cycle across high bridges and ride in the snow/ hurricane/heatwave. Most challenging of all, I'll ask for your support because I can't do it alone. I'm so grateful for knights like Sir Elton who feel the same way.
"We will not leave anyone behind." - motto of the Elton John AIDS Foundation
The Elton John AIDS Foundation has raised $450 million toward ending the pandemic of HIV/AIDS. It's not enough. My cycling team, the Puget Sound Riders have collectively raised $700,000. I've met hundreds who work hard to raise a few hundred dollars and thousands more who selflessly contribute what they can. Every penny gets us closer to that goal of assuring HIV/AIDS is left in the rear-view once and for ALL.
World AIDS Day is December 1, every year. Take a moment on this day to join the finishers with your contribution to my 2023 AIDS Vaccine 200 or the fundraiser of your choice. We're out there, still committed to making AIDS history.
