Saint Mary’s AIDS Walk Team

Saint Mary’s 2023 AIDS Walk Team raised $66,033!

  • Our team raised $66,033 in 2023, placing us fourth in fundraising among all teams (and first among religious organizations).

  • Questions about AIDS Walk can be directed to one of the team captains: MaryJane Boland, Clark Mitchell, or Father Matt Jacobson.

  • In 2024, AIDS Walk is on May 19th. Click here to join or donate to our 2024 team!

    Learn more about AIDS Walk and our team by watching the following video and reading about the history of this ministry below.

Many of us here at Saint Mary’s remember the terrible early years of the AIDS epidemic when there were few treatments, and People with AIDS (PWAs) were treated with contempt, suspicion, and fear. Many things have changed since then, but some things remain stubbornly resistant to change. Those who live with HIV and AIDS still experience discrimination. Many still feel the need to keep silent about their diagnosis. Unfortunately, not all religious organizations have been helpful during the time of AIDS. Indeed, some people of faith have been more an opponent than ally. This is not so at Saint Mary’s where there has been a long tradition of supporting gay people, People with AIDS, and others who face discrimination. The AIDS Walk team, which first walked in 2006, is an important part of that tradition.

The AIDS Walk, held on the third Sunday in May—this year May 19—supports GMHC. GMHC serves approximately 10,000 people each year who live with and are affected by HIV/AIDS in all five boroughs of New York City. Over 60% of GMHC’s clients are people of color, nearly 75% identify as LGBTQ+, and over 80% percent are people living at or below the Federal poverty line. GMHC provides HIV and STI testing, food and nutrition programs, housing support, workforce development, legal assistance, advocacy for benefits and health insurance, mental health and emotional support, and substance-use counseling. GMHC believes that we can end AIDS at epidemic levels by addressing the underlying causes of new HIV infections, shifting cultural beliefs, and promoting healthy behaviors. Saint Mary’s supports that philosophy.

Our first team walked in May 2006, led by a core group of volunteers and Father John Beddingfield, then a curate at Saint Mary’s. Seventeen people—Saint Marians and their friends—raised about $10,000 for the AIDS Walk that year. Our Team has never been large, nevertheless its fundraising numbers increased steadily over the years. Team 2019, with its sixteen members, raised $62,757, ranking fourth among all teams and first among all religious organizations. In 2019, our donors included 257 people who lived in 23 states and 2 countries. We received some large donations. We also received gifts as small as $2.00. The Team also received donations from the parish, including gifts from Father Smith’s Discretionary Fund, the Emergency Fund overseen by Father Gerth, and fifty percent of Saint Mary’s Maundy Thursday collection (the other half was given in support of the Neighbors in Need program).

Emerging from the pandemic in 2022, our team again ranked fourth overall and first among religious organizations. Remarkably, we nearly reached our 2019 pre-pandemic level by raising $57,078. We did reach a new high the following year, in 2023, raising $66,033!