It proved to be a record-breaking year for AIDS Walk Tampa Bay”beyond the $197,000 grand total that it brought to AIDS Service Association of Pinellas on Sept. 8.
See a Shot on Site gallery of the AIDS Walk!
More people participated in the annual walk this year than ever before and team and individual fundraising goals shattered records set in previous years. That’s proof to AIDS Walk Tampa Bay coordinator Jay Aller that the walk has come into its own.
“People are recognizing it and coming out to support it,” Aller said. “If you look out at the crowd you see there are more younger people, more women, than in the past. People realize that this is not a gay event and that AIDS is not just a gay disease.”
The grand total of $197,000 includes the in-kind gifts of sponsors like Clearchannel, Watermark, Creative Loafing and other businesses that donated ad space or equipment. Even discounting their generosity from the grand total still shows an impressive $127,000 in cash donated by participants.
“If we didn’t have the support of those in-kind donations, we would have had to pay out of pocket for DJ rentals, equipment, advertising, etc.,” Aller explained. “So there is a lot of value to those donations.”
In all, 107 teams participated in AIDS Walk Tampa Bay 2012 and 1,030 people checked in the day of the walk. GTE Financial’s team raised the most money with $19,952. In second was St. Petersburg High School, which brought a younger contingent to the walk.
“Seeing the walkers from St. Pete High was just amazing,” Aller said. “It shows we’re reaching more of the community each year.”
Individual records were set by Joe Brancucci of GTE Financial’s team, who brought in $11,001. The second top individual fundraiser was Balance Tampa Bay team member Mike Hammond, who raised $6,095.
“We’ve never had an individual raise more than $4,000 before,” Aller said. “For someone to raise more than that was totally unexpected. We were in awe.”
Aller credits the larger donations to the activism of companies willing to match participants donations dollar-for-dollar. Groups also held their own fundraisers throughout the year to help bolster each team’s overall donation.
For many who have experienced the AIDS Walks of the past in the area, there were a few very noticeable changes. For one, the walk was renamed AIDS Walk Tampa Bay this year. Despite being held in St. Petersburg, the money raised from the walk benefits ASAP clients throughout Tampa Bay, hence the name change. Another change was the starting point of the walk. Walkers gathered in Vinoy Park in downtown St. Pete, several blocks away from its previous home, and the 5K walk took participants on a new route, which included a jaunt up the St. Petersburg Pier.
“I’ve not heard any bad remarks about the name change,” Aller said. “Everyone seems to appreciate it. At least half of the participants are from areas other than St. Petersburg. So we wanted to acknowledge that this is a regional event.”
Aller credited a team of 130 volunteers and committee members for making the walk a success, specifically naming Dale and David Kitt, Candy Godwin, Christopher Ramos, Dennis Lyons, Sheryl Hoolsema, Matt Moss, Greg Henchar, Chris Tate and Tim Beams.
Money raised from the AIDS walk directly benefits the clients of ASAP, Aller explained. It will help fund programs for family counseling, mental health services, its food pantry and more.
Unfortunately, the need doesn’t stop just because a successful fundraiser breaks records. ASAP is already planning its annual Santa Speedo Run for December. Details on that fundraiser will be announced at a later date.
But in the meantime, walkers can prepare for next year’s AIDS Walk Tampa Bay, already scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 14, at Vinoy Park.
