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Kelly Guinan's HIV/AIDS Bike Ride Hits the Road to Raise Funds and Awareness
"My father, John, has participated in these rides for the past 11 years. He was invited to join by his brother-in-law, Tom, who was HIV+, and they road a few years together until Tom's death in 2000. Afterward my father vowed to continue in his memory," said Kelly Guinan from her family's bar in Garrison. "Now with my father's brain cancer diagnosis, things have changed, so I'm going to carry on the tradition."
In the same spirit more than 100 cyclists from all across America will journey 275 miles over three days and three states next weekend to raise funds and awareness in the battle against HIV/AIDS.
Known as Braking the Cycle, the ride begins Friday, September 28, 2007, in Gettysburg, PA, and covers a scenic path through Lancaster, PA; the northern edge of Philadelphia; Clinton, NJ; and finally, New York City. Proceeds benefit the HIV/AIDS programs of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. Each rider raises a minimum contribution of $3,500. Last year 118 cyclists raised an astonishing $409,000.
The ride is just as much about family and community as it is about AIDS because every rider is a mother, partner, father, friend, grandmother, or sister of someone who is HIV+ or someone who has succumbed to AIDS. Some of the riders are HIV+ themselves.
Ironically, just a week after Braking the Cycle 2006, Kelly Guinan's father was diagnosed with brain cancer, and while he is doing well, he cannot make the ride this year. So Kelly and seven of her friends will make the journey for him. It will be their first time to make the difficult three-day trek.
"Through the years my father has become very passionate about the cause, and he would always come back from the ride saying he had renewed his faith in humanity," she said. "So I decided to join the ride in the memory of my Uncle Tom and to honor the promise of my father."
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported just last week that HIV infections among young men who have sex with men have increased 33 percent in the past six years. Ninety percent of those cases are in men under 20. Health officials blame the increase, to a great extent, on a lack of fear and a lack of awareness. The high public profile of Braking the Cycle will be an important contributor to awareness in the New York City area.
Since the Center's inception in 1983, tens of thousands of New Yorkers with HIV or AIDS have benefited from organization's services through its Center CARE program:
The Center provides more than 2,000 counseling sessions annually to people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.
More than 1,000 teenagers attend prevention leadership training each year. Another 3,000 citizens attend the Center's World AIDS Day vigils. And thousands more attend educational forums and conferences.
The services are available to people of all income levels. For information, contact Center CARE at (212) 620-7310. The ride will end at the Center on 13th Street in New York City's Greenwich Village where supporters will welcome the riders and enjoy the festivities of the closing ceremonies. For more information about Braking the Cycle, call 212.989.1111 or visit www.brakingthecycle.org
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