Walk for Life to Raise Funds to Fight AIDS

With an ambitious pledge goal, an expected influx of walkers and two honorary celebrity chairmen--Santa Barbara resident Rob Lowe and Ojai’s Bill Paxton--the Oct. 19 Walk for Life should prove to be the county’s biggest AIDS walk yet.

“Rob and I have lost many friends and professional colleagues to AIDS,” said Paxton, star of the summer blockbuster “Twister,” who will join Lowe in leading the 10K walk. “We could help the big AIDS charities in Hollywood, but Ventura County is my home. It’s only fitting that I help my local neighbors affected by AIDS.”

The event raises money for AIDS Care Inc. and the Ventura County AIDS Partnership, the local affiliate of the National AIDS Fund.

Funds raised by the walk will help the two groups provide prevention programs and services including counseling, legal advice and emergency shelter for the county’s growing population of people with AIDS, said Art McDermott, program manager of AIDS Partnership.

“We are on the brink of an explosion of AIDS cases,” McDermott said. “If we want to stop it, we could really make a difference [in Ventura County]. If we don’t, we’re going to see an enormous increase in the number of AIDS cases. We’re at a critical junction here.”

According to health department data, 600 people in Ventura County have been diagnosed with AIDS or HIV since the 1980s; half of them are now dead. An additional 250 people with AIDS have moved to the county, McDermott said. However, county health officials estimate that 1,500 to 3,000 county residents are infected with HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, but have not been diagnosed.

Beginning and ending at Pineapples Restaurant on the Ventura Pier, the walk is expected to draw 700 walkers and $80,000 in pledges--an increase of 200 people and $20,000 over last year.

For information about the Walk for Life or to receive a pledge sheet, call AIDS Care at 643-0446.