I'm doing the Hill Country Ride for AIDS on April 24. This is the 11th annual ride, and it is a beautiful, amazing event. I've done a couple of lighthearted diaries, but this one will be serious. (ok, I'll still put something lighthearted at the end, can't be all seriousness on a Friday)
ADVERTISEMENT
With the Ride 8 days away, they have only raised 47% of their goal. That's why I had to bring on the seriousness, and really ask for big help from people here. Here's some info I've gleaned from the Ride folks:
If it takes you two minutes to read this, ten more people will have become infected with HIV. Four minutes? Twenty more precious lives will hear the news. Doesn't that seem impossible? Here's the beauty of the Ride, you make it possible for people to not only survive, but to thrive. Not only can we do this, we must.
(from the Ride Director, a really amazing man):
Every day, thousands of people right here need you, just ask the man I met last week who is now too sick to continue working and isn't sure how to pay his rent. When you meet just one, you realize you would give everything you can to make sure that person has the care they need. Yet, there are thousands more, and each one needs you for nutritious food, housing, medical care, home care, and hospice. Without you, someone will not get the care they need. It's that simple. So ask everyone you know to join or support you. Ask them to forward this to their friends. When you do, and we all pull together, we set records, we prove the power of this great community, and yes, we create miracles...something you've done for ten years in a row. Make it eleven years, thousands are counting on you.
Whether you know someone with AIDS or not, thank you for realizing we are all in this together. We will never forget the people we have lost to AIDS. They added an unforgettable joy to our lives, and continue to teach us what it means to really live. We all stand on their shoulders, and will honor them with every mile pedaled, every hour of service.
We - I - need your help to get us up the hill and across the finish line for the Hill Country Ride for AIDS! Please donate here at my Hill Country Ride page.
This year, the Ride's goal is $700,000. That amount is a leap of faith in this economy, but like the man in the song you know I'll post at the end of this diary said, we're gonna make it all the way to the light. When the economy is as crappy as it is, the need for services like those provided by AIDS Services of Austin becomes much more critical. But I have faith that people will come through, and we will not only meet that goal but will surpass it
The Ride is April 24 - 8 days away. AIDS Services of Austin is just one of several great local AIDS service organizations that the Ride benefits. Every year, the money raised by the Ride helps support thousands of people living with HIV and AIDS in Central Texas, and helps even more thousands of locals through HIV prevention education and testing. Please get involved today! Please donate if you can - any amount will help, here's my Hill Country Ride page
And if you know me at all, you knew this was coming. Here's my own personal theme song for this year's Ride. Yes, we are gonna make it all the way to the light (dare I say it - "Yes We Can"):
