THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 10, 1994 TAG: 9411080084
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
As the number of AIDS cases rises each year, so do the number people who care. This was in evidence Sunday at Harbor Park, where thousands of people gathered to raise money by participating in the '94 Hampton Roads AIDS Walk for Life.
``There is better awareness in the community as more and more people are being touched by AIDS personally,'' said Robert Wojtowicz, an associate professor of art history at Old Dominion University and president of the Hampton Roads AIDS Walk Foundation.
``Each year we've almost doubled the previous year's total,'' Wojtowicz said. ``Last year, we raised $62,000, so this year our goal is $100,000.''
All of the money raised at the walk and other fund-raising events goes to clinics and agencies that provide care to people with HIV and their families.
``Each year the number of agencies grow,'' he said, ``because the need grows.''
According to the Centers for Disease Control, AIDS is the No. 1 killer of men ages 25 to 44 in Norfolk and Hampton. And the reported cases of HIV infection in women and children is rising. In addition, 40 percent of the people infected with HIV in the state live in Hampton Roads.
Money has been earmarked for the Children's AIDS Network Designed for Interfaith Involvement (CANDII), the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters/Children's AIDS Research and Education Clinic, the Center for the Comprehensive Care of Immune Deficiency, the Edmarc Hospice for Children, the Full Circle AIDS Hospice, the Peninsula AIDS Foundation, the Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce, the Tidewater Regional AIDS Center, and the Urban League of Hampton Roads AIDS Program.
Among the services these agencies provide are adult and pediatric medical care; social service support, including child care and respite services to families; minority youth education; counseling; medical and social case management; housing, food, transportation and dental-care referrals.
Wojtowicz said that 90 percent of the money that is raised goes directly to the agencies and 10 percent goes to administrative overhead.
``None of us gets a salary,'' he said, but we do have to pay the post office and the phone bill. But we try to keep it as lean as possible.''
The foundation sponsors two major fund-raising events a year, along with other, smaller events. The other major event is the Run for Life, which is held in the spring at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
The money the foundation raises is a significant source of funds for the agencies, which depend on a ``patchwork of federal and state funds and private donations,'' he said.
``It is a continuous thing for them to keep afloat,'' he said. ``They must be marshaling in their resources at all times.''
As president of the foundation, Wojtowicz works with a dozen trustees. They are all volunteers.
Wojtowicz had been a volunteer for the AIDS Walk in Philadelphia while he was working on his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania.
``When I heard that there was a committee forming in Hampton Roads, I joined,'' he said.
Because of his affiliation with the university, there was a strong ODU presence at the walk.
``We've had a tremendous turnout from the ODU student body,'' he said, ``particularly from the sororities and fraternities, the Lesbian & Gay Student Group, and we have a large contingent from the Catholic Campus Ministry.''
Wojtowicz said that most students probably believe that AIDS will not affect them.
``They think that they are invincible,'' he said, ``but that's really the hubris of being young. But when they look at the statistics, it's very sobering.''
The university has been very forceful about AIDS education in the student population, he said. A workshop given by two young men, one of whom is HIV positive, was well-attended.
``The point of the workshop was that HIV can strike anyone who is sexually active,'' Wojtowicz said.
As long as this is true, the foundation will remain in operation.
``As long as there's a need for AIDS support and care, we will be here,'' Wojtowicz said. ``I would hope that we could disband sometime in the next 10 years, but I'm not very optimistic.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK
Robert Wojtowicz, an associate professor of art history at Old
Dominion University, is president of the Hampton Roads AIDS Walk
Foundation.
by CNB