AIDS Walk New York

AIDS Walk New York benefits Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC).

GMHC is a not-for-profit, volunteer-supported, and community-based organization committed to national leadership in the fight against AIDS.

Our mission is to reduce the spread of HIV disease, help people with HIV maintain and improve their health and independence, and keep the prevention, treatment and cure of HIV an urgent national and local priority. In fulfilling this mission, we will remain true to our heritage by fighting homophobia and affirming the individual dignity of all gay men and lesbians. The first cases of AIDS were reported in 1981 and prompted immediate attention when the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it as an epidemic.

In 1982, Gay Men's Health Crisis was officially founded to increase research on the disease and to support those that had been discriminated against because they had been infected.

In 1986, New York hosts the first AIDS Walk, with 4,500 walkers and raising $710,000.

Since then GMHC has initiated various campaigns and outreach programs designated to improving the livelihoods of people living with HIV/ AIDS.