13th Annual Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival to Include Award-Winning Artist Flo Rida

As the state of Florida continues to lead the nation in new rates of HIV diagnosis, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the world's largest HIV/AIDS service organization, with a strong presence in South Florida, will once again host the Florida AIDS Walk and Music Festival - an annual 5K walk to raise funds for HIV/AIDS services throughout Florida. With an estimated attendance of over 2,000 participants from across the region, this annual event will raise over $1 million dollars to support 10 local non-profit organizations that are working to address the increasing HIV/AIDS epidemic plaguing South Florida. Scheduled for Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 10:00am on beautiful Fort Lauderdale Beach, the event will kick-off with a very special musical presentation of the national anthem by students from Stoneman Douglas High School, the South Florida high school that recently experienced mass tragedy due to gun violence and will culminate with a high energy concert from the Deep Fried Funk Band and the internationally acclaimed, award-winning artist, Flo Rida. Presented by Wells Fargo and AHF Pharmacy, the Florida AIDS walk, now one of the regions highly anticipated outdoor events, is aimed at increasing South Florida's awareness, prevention, and treatment efforts against the spread of HIV.

"Since its inception, this annual event has been a great source of raising awareness of the HIV epidemic that's plaguing our community, while also galvanizing community support, from some great corporate partners and thousands of individuals, around raising significant dollars to support 10 non-profit organizations that are committed to addressing this crisis," said Michael Kahane, Southern Bureau Chief for AIDS Healthcare Foundation. "We are pleased that Flo Rida has agreed to join us again, and given that advocacy is a key tenet to AHF's mission, we are honored to have the courageous students from Stoneman Douglas on program."

Now in its 13th year, The Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival has featured an array of award-winning artists, including Salt-N-Pepa, DNCE, The Go-Go's, The B-52's and Chaka Khan. Annually, this impactful and fun-filled event, attracts a diverse array of groups and individual participants and raises millions of dollars to support local, non-profit agencies in south Florida that are working to address the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic plaguing the area. Beyond its fundraising element, the event helps to remind the community that HIV/AIDS is still impacting our community by increasing the community's awareness, education, and prevention efforts all with the objective of reducing the spread of HIV.

Organizations benefiting from the 2018 event include:

SAVE

SUNSHINE SOCIAL SERVICES, INC.

THE POVERELLO CENTER

THE PRIDE CENTER AT EQUALITY PARK

LATINOS SALUD

THE WORLD AIDS MUSEUM AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER

PRIDELINES

OASIS FLORIDA

URBAN LEAGUE OF BROWARD COUNTY

Registration for the walk & music festival is available at www.floridaaidswalk.org.

HIV/AIDS in Florida:

According to recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC):

• Florida ranked 1st among the 50 states in the number of HIV diagnoses;
• Three Florida cities, made the top 15 cities nationally, when it comes to number of people with HIV. Miami is at the top of the list, with Jacksonville and Orlando at the tenth and 11th spots, respectively; and
• Miami-Dade and Broward counties ranked top in the nation of new HIV diagnosis.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Media interested in covering the event, should check in at the Media Check-In Table on Sunday, no later than 10:45am. Journalists interested in interviews can contact Imara Canady at (954) 952-0258 or via email at imara.canady@aidshealth.org

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