Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PRNewswire - December 1, 2006
The Global Roche Employee AIDS Walk also takes place today at 95 company locations worldwide, including operations in Nutley and Branchburg, N.J., Indianapolis, Ind., Florence, S.C., Boulder, Colo., Palo Alto and Pleasanton, Calif., as well as in Basel, Switzerland.
"HIV and AIDS cannot be taken on by any one person or only one organization, especially when our state's most vulnerable citizens are affected," said New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine. "What's required are the collaborative efforts of public health officials, communities, people living with HIV and companies like Roche, who are not just private funders, but community leaders, if we are to turn the tide in preventing new infections and caring for people living with and affected by HIV."
New Jersey AIDS Partnership
A portion of donations from the Nutley Walk are distributed to community-based non-profit organizations serving people living with HIV/AIDS through the New Jersey AIDS Partnership (NJAP; http://www.pacf.org/aids). According to the New Jersey Department of Heath and Senior Services, 33,349 people were reported living with HIV/AIDS in New Jersey in 2006 and the state ranks fifth in the nation in the number of reported cases. Since the inception of the Roche Employee AIDS Walk in 2003, Roche has donated $123,000 to NJAP.
The New Jersey AIDS Partnership funds innovative programs and timely approaches that provide effective community-based HIV/AIDS education efforts, as well as care and treatment services. Since 1998, they have given $5.3 million dollars to support 270 programs throughout New Jersey and 95 percent of all money raised is invested in the community. They also focus on the neediest and at-risk populations with prevention and risk reduction education as well as early intervention services to impact the spread of the disease. NJAP also funds two programs that provide a continuum of coordinated services to children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, their families and caregivers.
"I am very pleased that we are able to support the important work of the New Jersey AIDS Partnership," said Hoffmann-La Roche President and CEO George Abercrombie, who kicked off the company's walk in Nutley. "As one of the original sites involved in the AIDS Walk, I am proud that our employees continue to be so passionate about raising funds to combat AIDS. By contributing to charities locally in the U.S. and in Malawi, Roche employees take great pride in knowing that their efforts are making a difference."
In addition to supporting the New Jersey AIDS Partnership, funds raised through the Roche Employee AIDS Walk will be donated to UNICEF to support children in Malawi who have lost one or both parents to AIDS. These donations fund orphanages providing food, clothing, basic healthcare and schooling. More than half a million children in Malawi have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Health experts say that sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst affected region in the world; in 2005, 24.5 million people were living with HIV. According to the World Health Organization, globally 64 percent of all people living with HIV reside in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Top Fundraisers Visit Malawi
Each year, the names of the top fund-raisers from around the globe are entered into a drawing and several are selected to visit Malawi. During their trip, the participants have the opportunity to visit the orphan centers, speak to the children, local helpers and the European Coalition of Positive People (ECPP), and see for themselves how the donations from the Global Roche Employee AIDS Walk are being used.
In June 2006, nine ambassadors from the 2005 AIDS walk traveled to Malawi to see first-hand how the donations were put to use. They commented that their welcome was like nothing they had ever seen before -- heartfelt, sincere and full of emotion. Moreover, the visit provided a chance for the children to meet their benefactors from such far away countries as Japan, Spain, Brazil, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the U.S., Switzerland and Australia.
During their stay, the ambassadors helped distribute soap to the children and received a heart-wrenching reaction, noting that while soap for most people is something that goes on a shopping list, for the children, it was like Christmas. Also unexpected, was the air of community and caring that was astonishing. In the midst of such poverty and having lost so much, the ambassadors were amazed that the children had not lost their spirit.
About the Global Roche Employee AIDS Walk
The first Roche Employee AIDS Walk took place in 2003 as a pilot project involving three Roche locations. Immensely successful in its first year, the event was subsequently extended to include all Roche sites. Since 2003, more than 21,000 Roche employees worldwide have taken part in the annual walk, raising approximately $2.2 million for children affected by AIDS in Malawi and elsewhere.
About Roche
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. (Roche), based in Nutley, N.J., is the U.S. pharmaceuticals headquarters of the Roche Group, one of the world's leading research-oriented healthcare groups with core businesses in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. For more than 100 years, the Roche Group has been committed to developing innovative products and services that address prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, thus enhancing people's health and quality of life. An employer of choice, in 2005, Roche was named one of Fortune magazine's Best Companies to Work For in America, one of the Top 20 Employers (Science magazine), ranked as the No. 3 Best Company to Work For in NJ (NJ Biz magazine), the No. 1 Company to Sell For (Selling Power), and one of AARP's Top Companies for Older Workers. For additional information about the U.S. pharmaceuticals business, visit our websites: http://www.rocheusa.com or http://www.roche.us.
SOURCE Roche
http://www.rocheusa.com
http://www.roche.us
http://www.pacf.org/aids
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