For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Justin Burke - 213.201.1525
EMAIL:jburke@apla.org
JAMIE LEE CURTIS,
ERIC McCORMACK, THORA BIRCH, NIA VARDALOS,
HAL SPARKS, BILL BROCHTRUP, JEFFREY TAMBOR, DEF POET
JESSICA CARE MOORE AND OTHERS WILL RALLY WALKERS AT
19th ANNUAL AIDS WALK LOS ANGELES PRESENTED BY WELLS
FARGO
LORNA LUFT PERFORMS DURING OPENING CEREMONIES
Los Angeles, October 15, 2003 – Two-time Golden Globe® winner Jamie Lee Curtis, Emmy winner Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace”), Emmy and Golden Globe® nominee Thora Birch (“From Homeless to Harvard,” “Ghost World”), Oscar® and Golden Globe® nominee Nia Vardalos (“My Big Fat Greek Wedding”), four-time Emmy nominee Jeffrey Tambor (“The Larry Sanders Show”), stars Hal Sparks (“Queer As Folk”) and Bill Brochtrup (“NYPD Blue”) and Def Poet Jessica Care Moore will be among the celebrities to rally the 25,000 walkers expected at the 19th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles, Sunday, October 19. AIDS Walk Los Angeles, which this year is presented by Wells Fargo, is Southern California’s largest fundraising event benefiting AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and other AIDS service organizations across Los Angeles County.
"AIDS Walk Los Angeles is the biggest and most diverse HIV/AIDS event in Southern California,” said Craig E. Thompson, executive director, APLA. “AIDS Walk Los Angeles is enormously important, both for the millions of dollars that walkers and sponsors raise and for the message that 25,000 walkers broadcast -- that people living with HIV/AIDS need our support, now more than ever. Walkers, volunteers, sponsors and celebrities all come together to make this event an incredible success.”
Celebrities help draw attention to the importance of AIDS Walk Los Angeles and the needs of the 52,000 people estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County. Over the years, Madonna, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jeffrey Katzenberg have participated in AIDS Walk, encouraging the Los Angeles community to take action by walking and raising funds.
The 10-kilometer walk begins and ends in West Hollywood and travels along Beverly Boulevard and Melrose Avenue back to a post-walk concert featuring Rock Inc., Maria, Kiley Dean, and Masanga Marimba Ensemble. During the Opening Ceremonies, Lorna Luft, who is touring nationally with her show “Songs My Mother Taught Me – A Celebration of the Music of Judy Garland,” will perform.
Register today for AIDS Walk Los Angeles and join friends, neighbors, community leaders and celebrities. The proceeds will help APLA and other AIDS service organizations across Los Angeles County provide vital assistance to men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS. For more information on AIDS Walk Los Angeles, please call 213. 201.WALK (9255) or visit www.aidswalk.net.
AIDS Project Los Angeles, one of the nation’s largest AIDS service organizations, provides direct services to more than 10,000 men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS in Los Angeles County. Services include prevention education, food banks and nutrition education, professional dental care, housing assistance, mental health counseling, and case management. APLA is a leader in the provision of bilingual HIV treatment information, in print and on the Internet, and advocates for effective AIDS-related policies and legislation on the local, state and federal level. For more information, please visit www.apla.org.
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