Lab has team in Santa Fe AIDS Walk on Saturday

The Lab has fielded a team in the event for several years; last year's team raised about $2,000 for Southwest Cares, which sponsors the event and distributes funds to agencies that provide support services to individuals with HIV and AIDS. Last year's Santa Fe AIDS Walk raised more than $110,000.

The walk begins at 10 a.m. from Santa Fe's downtown plaza and takes a 5-kilometer (3.1 miles) path through east side streets before finishing back on the plaza, said Pamela Durbin of Southwest Cares in Santa Fe.

Lab personnel interested in participating on the Lab team should meet in front of the Plaza Café at 8 a.m., said Jack Harris of Desktop (CCN-2) and co-chairperson of the Lab's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Diversity Working Group. The Lab is team number 46 in this year's walk, he added.

"This is as always a very important event to support the funding for HIV and AIDS related services in Northern New Mexico," said Harris. "We still battle the perception in much of our country that the AIDS epidemic is over due to advances in treatment. While there certainly have been advances in treatment of HIV and AIDS, the fact is that support services are in need of even more money due to the extended life expectancy of HIV/AIDS patients," he said.

For more information, contact Harris at 5-4036 or write to jackh@lanl.gov by electronic mail.

-- Steve Sandoval

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