Put on some tennis shoes and walk for a cause on Oct. 3 at the Pacific Pride Foundation’s 19th annual AIDS Walk at Leadbetter Beach in Santa Barbara. Proceeds from the walk will go toward paying for HIV/AIDS services all over Santa Barbara County.
The event—traditionally the foundation’s biggest fundraiser—is especially important this year because of the drastic funding cuts imposed by the California Legislature, according to Pacific Pride Foundation staff members.
Earlier this year, lawmakers approved $30 million in cuts to statewide AIDS funding in an attempt to balance California’s budget. That decision was followed shortly after by a $52 million line item veto from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The $82 million in cuts brings AIDS funding down to pre-1985 levels, according to the foundation’s executive director, David Selberg. Pacific Pride Foundation alone is looking at a spending reduction of more than $600,000, or 42 percent of its HIV services budget. To keep the foundation’s doors open, Selberg had to lay off 11 staff members countywide last month.
Still, the foundation’s remaining staffers have been working hard to organize an event they think will be fun and informative, said volunteer coordinator Jocelyn Smalley.
“The Santa Barbara High School cheerleaders will be there to cheer everyone on,” Smalley said, “and [after the walk] there will be massage, acupuncture, and Paul Mitchell Salon will be there giving haircuts.”
Money raised at the walk will be split evenly between the foundation’s North and South County offices.
“We talked about doing a walk in the North County, but with a reduced staff it just wasn’t possible,” Smalley said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to do it in the next couple of years.”
Those interested in participating in the walk can register individually or as a team online at pacificpridefoundation.org. People who are unable to attend the walk but still want to be involved can sponsor a team or make a donation online.
Registration begins at 9 a.m. with the walk following at 10 a.m.
This article appears in Oct 1-8, 2009.