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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Francisco, California 94102
Contact: (415) 552-1190
People
Paddle
for AIDS
"People Paddle for
AIDS: Like a walk-a-thon, but in kayaks. Benefits 20 AIDS
service organizations. Sunday, May 4th on Pier 40 near AT&T
Park. Paddle, volunteer or donate at peoplepaddle.com."
On
May 4,
2008,
up to 30 AIDS
service organizations will have individuals kayaking on the bay to help
with
the fight against AIDS.
Paddlers will
launch from the South Beach Marina at 10:30am, paddle to a turn in
McCovey Cove
for a big "raft up" photo opportunity, then paddle back to South
Beach Pier 40 at 12:30pm. The event will end with a large block
party at South
Beach Harbor complete with an awards ceremony, live music, food, and
booths
showcasing the offerings of our partner agencies and sponsors.
Healing
Waters,
whose mission
is to empower, inspire and enrich the lives of people living with
HIV/AIDS
through outdoor adventures, is sponsoring the event. Healing
Waters Executive Director, Mike Dugan, stated “This is the first time
that AIDS service organizations have worked together
on a fundraising event out on the water. People are excited about
having a
good reason to try kayaking while helping their favorite HIV/AIDS
organizations
raise much needed dollars.”
The
30+
beneficiaries are
expected to include: AIDS
Emergency
Fund, AIDS Health Project, AIDS Legal Referral Panel, Asian &
Pacific
Wellness Center, Bay Area Young Positives, Black Coalition on AIDS,
Derek Silva
Community of Catholic Charities, Healing Waters, Hazel Betsy program of
Lutheran Social Services, Metropolitan Community Church, Mission
Neighborhood
Health Center, Most Holy Redeemer AIDS Support Group, Native American
Health
Center, New Leaf Services, PAWS, Positive Force program of the STOP
AIDS
Project, Positive Resource Center, Project Open Hand, Shanti and Vital
Life
Services, and other groups.
According
to
volunteer event
coordinator, Melody Lacy, “The registration and pledging software
empowers
donors and paddlers to choose exactly where their dollars go.
Healing Waters
is underwriting all event costs including liability insurance, permits,
T-shirts,
food and more. Eighty-five percent of all pledges raised go
directly to the
nonprofit organizations ‘championed’ by the kayakers.”
Participants
will
receive a breakfast
snack, designer bottled water by METROMINT and a T-shirt, as well as a
safety
whistle and other toys and surprises. The Sisters of Perpetual
Indulgence will
provide a special blessing as the kayaks launch from Pier 40.
People
Paddle
founders, Dean McCully and Lisa Bickford, plan to continue the People
Paddle event for other organizations
in the future, possibly for agencies serving individuals living with
cancer or
other life threatening illnesses. According to McCully, “Kayaking
is an
excellent way to help worthy nonprofit organizations while enjoying the
beautiful bay, meeting new people and making new friends.”
To
register to
paddle for
your favorite organization or sponsor a paddler for People Paddle for
AIDS, go
to www.peoplepaddle.com
Event Name: People Paddle for
AIDS
Event
Dates: Sunday
May 4, 2008, 9am-5pm
Event
Location: San
Francisco, California
South Beach Harbor at Pier 40
Contact
Person: Dean
McCully
Contact
Phone: 408-404-1289
Contact
Email: dean@peoplepaddle.com
Contact
Website: http://www.peoplepaddle.com/aids
Description:
Up
to 200 kayakers raising pledges
for up to 30 AIDS service organizations.
Cost: $25 to
kayak + nominal cost for rental equipment
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