Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life raises over $250,000 on its 25th anniversary

Hundreds of HIV/AIDS community allies celebrated the 25th anniversary of Vancouver’s Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life today by donating $257,464 (and counting) to the Positive Living Society of BC—Western Canada’s largest HIV/AIDS organization and founding body of the Walk.

Between 10am and 2pm, the crowd traveled from Sunset Beach to Lost Lagoon and back in a proud show of their efforts to support Positive Living BC’s Complementary Health Fund (CHF). Unique in its kind, the CHF reimburses HIV-positive individuals throughout the province for the cost of vitamins, purified water and other immune-health essentials not covered by BC’s Medical Services Plan.

“Pharmaceutical advancements have nearly eliminated AIDS-related deaths in our province, but they have not cured HIV,” explains Ken Buchanan, Board Chair of Positive Living BC. “Infected individuals are still especially susceptible to any threat to immune system health. The CHF helps protect equal rights to healthy, long-term HIV survival. On behalf of the Society’s more than 5000 HIV-positive members, I thank everyone at the Walk for supporting this cause.”

Further donations are encouraged to offset costs of HIV health and wellness essentials not covered by MSP.  Visit www.aidswalkforlifevancouver.ca for more information.