First AIDS CableThon Raises More Than $1 Million in Pledges

Spurred by the public attention drawn to AIDS by Magic Johnson’s disclosure on Thursday that he has tested positive for HIV, the first-ever AIDS CableThon, shown over a network of California cable stations on Sunday night, raised more than $1 million in pledges.

Organizers said that the cablethon ended with a flood of $32 contributions--in honor of the number that the star basketball player wore as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Money raised will go primarily to the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, but other AIDS-help organizations in the state will benefit. The foundation provides hospice and out-patient clinic services for HIV-positive persons and persons with AIDS.

“We were able to break the barrier of just having an AIDS fund-raiser on television,” said Michael Weinstein, foundation president. “Just the idea that we got all these groups together was a breakthrough in awareness of the disease as well as in the money raised.”

Weinstein said donations by Century Cable and other cable companies helped keep production costs down to $65,000--and that amount was covered by corporate donors.

He noted that some companies, which had turned down requests for donations prior to Johnson’s announcement, came through on Friday.