San Francisco Examiner - July 4, 2006
Melanie Carroll, mcarroll@examiner.com

That was in 1987, just six years after the first AIDS cases were reported.

Today, Turner, 53, is again preparing for the annual fundraising trek through Golden Gate Park. She hasn't missed one since 1987, despite the arthritis that sometimes forces her to use a wooden cane.

"People still need to be educated about how this happens and what can be done," Turner said. "There's so much more that needs to be done."

Friends, co-workers and a member of her Castro Valley high school senior class have died from AIDS since the disease was first reported in 1981, Turner said.

There are more than 1 million people in the U.S. living with AIDS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly one-fourth of those infected with HIV have yet to be diagnosed and are unaware they carry the virus that has killed at least 500,000 Americans, the CDC reports.

The 6,000 participants in San Francisco's first AIDS Walk were visionaries, many gay or lesbian-identified, who gathered to demonstrate their concerns about what was happening in their community, said Craig Miller, the walk's founder.

"It felt like living in a city that was dying," Miller, 46, said. "What those 6,000 people started was nothing short of a movement."

Twenty years later, organizers of the July 16 walk in Golden Gate Park said it is expected to draw 25,000 walkers and raise about $3.5 million, roughly the same figures as last year.

While interest is waning in some other parts of the country, San Francisco runs counter to that trend, Miller said.

Through the years, Turner has collected buttons, hats, napkins, baseball caps and T-shirts from each annual event. A history buff, the Kaiser Permanente distribution supervisor hasn't thrown much of it away in two decades.

"My favorite piece of memorabilia - it makes me smile - is the 1987 first book" handed out to participants, Turner said.

Since its inception, the San Francisco walk has attracted a total of more than 325,000 walkers and raised more than $53 million for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and other local service organizations. The foundation aims to end the pandemic and the suffering caused by HIV.

When Turner first started doing the walk in 1987, she raised $67 from 24 donors, she said.

Today, she and her husband, John Hendrey, are expecting to bring in about $2,500.

"It's my 20th walk. I've developed a donor pool," Turner said.

060704
SE060702

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2006. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .