2019 AIDS Walk San Francisco: UCSF Community Raises Funds, Shows Support for Federal Funding
Several hundred UC San Francisco staff, faculty, students and supporters joined the annual San Francisco AIDS Walk on Sunday to raise money for local AIDS organizations as well as show their support for federal funding to support HIV research.
More than a dozen UCSF teams participated in the annual 10K walk in Golden Gate Park. This year, the funds raised at AIDS Walk benefited local organizations, including Ward 86’s new POP-UP Clinic. The new program, housed at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, provides flexible, comprehensive, and patient-centered care for homeless and unstably housed individuals in San Francisco who are living with HIV.
“It is a totally different way of doing care for people,” Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, medical director of Ward 86, said during the AIDS Walk event. “Because of you, that is what is helping to launch it. So thank you for helping to support Ward 86.”
UCSF this year also formed its first-ever UCSF Advocates team to in part encourage members of the broader community to join the advocacy program to stand up for values and policies fundamental to UCSF’s mission, including federal funding for HIV research.
At AIDS Walk, more than 150 people joined with the UCSF Advocates and signed postcards for their congressional representatives, asking them to support HIV and AIDS research.
The advocacy is a continuation of the decades of work that UCSF has done in research and patient care, such as UCSF’s Ward 86, which was the world’s first dedicated HIV outpatient clinic. Fittingly, the theme for UCSF’s team T-shirt at AIDS Walk carried the slogan “Generations of Impact.”
See photos of UCSFers at this year’s AIDS Walk:
UCSF staff, faculty, students and supporters joined in this year’s AIDS Walk San Francisco on Sunday in Golden Gate Park. Among those walking the 10K were Kathy Ghanayem (center) and Cee Cee Shinn (right). Shinn drafted friends and UCSF retail workers to dress in the dinosaur costumes for the event. Photo by Noah Berger
Marta Rodriguez, UCSF administrative assistant for Pediatric Dentistry, warms up before AIDS Walk on Sunday. Photo by Noah Berger
UCSF community members gather for a group photo ahead of the AIDS Walk San Francisco event. Photo by Noah Berger
Ward 86 Medical Director Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH (center left) stands with UCSF community members during AIDS Walk on Sunday. Photo by Noah Berger
UCSF postdoctoral scholar Sona Chowdhury, PhD, helps UCSF community members write postcards to their Congressional representatives, asking them to support federal funding for HIV research. Photo by Noah Berger
UCSF pediatric dentistry resident Carl Buchanon II, DDS, MPH, speaks with fellow AIDS Walk San Francisco participants during the event in Golden Gate Park. Photo by Noah Berger
From left, Andrea Nickerson, Hailey Reeves and Lucia Abascal – curriculum planners from UCSF Global Health Sciences master’s program – pose for a picture during AIDS Walk on Sunday. Photo by Noah Berger
Paul Volberding, MD, who helped create Ward 86 at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, attends AIDS Walk San Francisco. Photo by Noah Berger
Alyssa Michaels, a program coordinator for UCSF’s Addiction Medicine Fellowship, carries a sign for Ward 86’s POP-UP Clinic. This year’s AIDS Walk San Francisco raised funds for local organizations, including Ward 86’s new clinic. Photo by Noah Berger