photos: Courtesy

AIDS found its way into the American conscious approximately 25 years ago. Less than a decade later, as the virus spread and panic ensued, the San Antonio AIDS Foundation decided to take action in the fight against AIDS.

SAAF has continued in that fight and will sponsor the 17th Annual Walk for Life, slated for Saturday, Sept. 29, at Woodlawn Park. The event serves as one of the primary fundraisers for SAAF, which operates as a nonprofit entity.

“Individuals who take part in the Walk for Life provide (an) essential source of monetary assistance for SAAF at a time when funding and grants are more difficult to obtain,” said David Ewell, SAAF's executive director, in a news release.

The annual Walk for Life event is a 5k walk-run, in which participants pay a $25 entry fee and also collect donations from the public. Those who raise the most money are awarded prizes for their efforts.

While the walk has become an institution of sorts over the past 17 years, organizers still have to work diligently to build buzz for the event every year. This year, that included some events in the weeks leading up to the Walk For Life, such as a wacky shoe-decorating day on Sept. 15.

Anything to get the word out, Hernandez said.

“We're not sitting on our laurels on this event,” she said. “It's just the opposite because we want to turn it into a much bigger event than it already is.”

SAAF organizers hope to draw 400 participants this year, with a long-term goal of 1,200.

To boost attendance in a festive city like San Antonio, Walk for Life officials plan to meet that eventual goal via a party-like atmosphere.

“We'd like to have it be an all-day kind of carnival atmosphere,” Hernandez said. “We have a big stage coming ..... and we're going to be rocking the house at Woodlawn Lake.”

CLINT HALE | 210SA