The annual Cielo Gala raises funds for the Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA). Founded in 1990, LCOA spearheads health advocacy for Latinos, promotes HIV education, develops prevention programs for high-risk communities and helps community organizations scale up their capacity to fight HIV and AIDS. This year’s gala was held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City and honored various individuals for their activism, health care advocacy and promotion of Latino visibility and representation. The gala also served to underscore LCOA’s commitment to reach Zero Homophobia and Zero Transphobia in the Latino community by highlighting its national ZERO Campaign.

 

Since 1994, the 545-mile AIDS/LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles has raised funds for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center so that the two nonprofits can continue to provide free HIV and AIDS medical care, testing and prevention services. Riding from June 2 through June 8, this year’s cyclists raised $10,984,492; in total, the ride has raised more than $300,000,000 to fight the epidemic and provide services to those who need them most.

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Valerie Reyes-Jimenez

Community activist Valerie Reyes-Jimenez, diagnosed with HIV in 1989, has worked since the early days of the epidemic to ensure that women with HIV and AIDS receive the same services and medical care as men.Latino Commission on AIDS/Flickr