Thank you Marti and Steve Scruggs for being the first to donate every year 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 AND 2021. I appreciate all those who supported ALC on behalf of my participation -- with a total of $251,988 raised, we are in the Top 10 Fundraisers for 2014, 2015, and 2016, and Top 10 Northern California Fundraisers for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

After TogetheRide 2021, we're back for AIDS/LifeCycle 2022 to raise much needed funds because ...

We ride for those who can't
We ride for those who live
We ride for those who give
And most of all,
We ride for those who can't live if we don't give

John and I will, again, self-fund the minimum $3k requirement to ride (through our donations and matches) so that 100% of your support on behalf of my participation will go to the Los Angeles LGBT Center (LALGBT Center) and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF).

I hope you'll join me in my continued effort in fundraising to #EndHIVAIDS.

Donations to AIDS/LifeCycle are deductible for income tax purposes, to the extent permitted by law. 

Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center's more than 600 employees provide services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy.

The SFAF works to end the HIV epidemic in the city where it began, and eventually everywhere. Established in 1982, our mission is the radical reduction of new infections in San Francisco because we refuse to accept HIV as inevitable. Through education, advocacy, and free local services for prevention and care, SFAF confronts HIV in neighborhoods most impacted by the disease and gives a powerful voice to all people living with the disease nationwide.

How does your participation help people living outside of California?

The programs and services offered through the Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation serve as models of care and prevention around the world. Members of both agencies work with organizations in several countries to share best practices to end the global AIDS epidemic.

You are supporting people across the nation and globe in four incredible ways (https://www.aidslifecycle.org/why-we-ride/the-beneficiaries/global-impact/):

Informing
Treating
Advocating
Researching 

How does your donation help at the Los Angeles LGBT Center?

• $50,000 underwrites the cost of comprehensive HIV wraparound services by a case management team for 3 months for 135 patients
• $35,000 funds an HIV Counselor for 1,200 clients per year
• $25,000 covers 5 months of mental health therapy for 28 patients
• $15,000 provides comprehensive sexual health services, including HIV and STD tests, treatment, education, and counseling to 100 clients
• $10,000 covers 3 months of psychosocial case management for 300 patients
• $7,500 provides a nurse for one month to administer STD screening and treatments for 400 clients
• $5,000 covers a full year of laboratory testing for 11 patients
• $1,000 covers a full year of medical supply costs for 40 patients
• $1,000 funds one client receiving Post Exposure Prophylaxis
• $250 provides Rapid HIV Antibody tests to 20 clients
• $180 provides HIV prevention counseling sessions to 20 teenagers
• $150 provides comprehensive HIV/STD testing to 1 client
• $30 covers the treatment medication for 1 client infected with an STD
• $10 buys 114 condoms that the Health Education and Prevention Program will distribute

How does your donation help at SFAF?

• $50,000 helps a substance use counselor see 40 clients a year for harm reduction counseling.
• $25,000 funds a half-time peer advocate see 50 clients for a year.
• $15,000 helps 120 Magnet clients receive sexual health services, including HIV and STD tests.
• $10,000 provides substance use counseling services for more than 250 clients in one month.
• $7,500 provides a nurse to administer STI screenings and treatments to 100 clients.
• $5,000 funds our mobile testing unit for one year so that 2,400 gay, bi and trans men can be tested.
• $2,500 helps four HIV-positive people receive safe and stable housing situations for one month.
• $1,000 provides two Positive Force community forums where 150 men can learn more about HIV.
• $500 helps 15 people receive medical benefits counseling to obtain prescription drug assistance.
• $250 provides ten Rapid HIV Antibody test to test ten people at Magnet, and other foundation sites.
• $175 provides case management for 15 HIV-positive clients who are marginally housed.
• $150 provides 1,000 syringes through the street-based Syringe Access Service.
• $100 provides the travel cost for a Treatment Advocacy Coordinator to attend the medical appointments of 25 clients.
• $25 helps a Financial Benefits counselor assist one person in navigating benefits systems.
• $10 can help provide 143 condoms to our clients at all of our service sites.

We ride for our community. We ride for those who cannot. We ride and roadie to end a stigma that cripples our friends and loved ones. We ride and roadie to bring awareness and remind everyone that HIV/AIDS is still with us and we must still fight. We ride and roadie together so that one day we can say that HIV/AIDS is a thing of the past. We ride and roadie for something greater than ourselves.

I appreciate your support.

Art Desuyo ALC Rider #2870