E.J. Bernacki's
AIDS/LifeCycle Homepage

Help me make a difference.

Hi friends,  

I decided this year to take the plunge and really do something to raise money for and awareness about HIV/AIDS.  I'm going to ride a bicycle from my hometown of San Francisco to Los Angeles - 545 miles - from June 1-7.  Although I'm a generally athletic guy, I've never been one for road biking or anything long distance.  This is a huge investment for me, but I'm hoping that through the sponsorships of people like you, I'll be able to raise $6,000 for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the many services organizations it supports.  I started riding in February and have been training my rear end off (literally, it feels).  I'm definitely feeling my 42 years, but getting excited about the journey nonetheless.    

At times during my training - grinding up a hill, fighting a headwind, hating my tiny little seat - I question the sanity of my goal.  Then I remind myself that there were years that I and many of my friends went to more funerals than we did weddings or toddler birthday parties.  AIDS is with us as much as ever, it's just the face of disease that has changed.  Of the approximately 33 million people living with AIDS today, 2.5 million are children and more than half are women.  Of the 40,000 people who will test positive for HIV in the United States this year, most will be under age 25.  I want to do what I can to prevent new infections and make a positive difference in the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS until we figure out how to put an end to the pandemic.  This ride and the support I am able to garner from my friends, family and coworkers is a way I can contribute. 

So please support me by making a donation here (it's SO easy with a credit card!).  We are all living with AIDS and we all have a role to play in addressing and putting an end to it.  If you are unable to donate, take some time to volunteer at an AIDS services organization in your community -- delivering meals, walking someone's dog, delivering prevention information to at-risk people, anything.  

Thank you very, very much for your support and for reading this far.  And PLEASE send me all your really good thoughts and energy during that first week of June.  I'll need them!

Gratefully yours,

E.J.