Walking the walk
to remember

By Ruth Rovner
For the Times

This Sunday, Robb Reichard will stand on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and welcome an estimated 20,000 people who will come together for an annual event of crucial importance for Philadelphians living with HIV and AIDS.
"The funds we raise during AIDS Walk Philly stay right here in the Greater Philadelphia region, where those dollars can really make a difference," says Reichard, executive director of the AIDS fund, the organization that sponsors the walk, now in its 21st year.
Planning for the event is a year-long process.
"As soon as this one is over, we’ll start planning for next year," says the busy Wissinoming resident, who acknowledges that his schedule has been "totally crazy" in recent weeks.
And no wonder. Working with a staff of three, he had to line up guest speakers, get city permits, work with designers on T-shirts, posters and buttons, and process thousands of registration cards. Then, too, there were arrangements for the delivery of panels from the AIDS memorial quilt.
The display of these panels will be one highlight of Sunday’s event. Each panel memorializes the life of an AIDS victim and has been sewn by loved ones of the victim. The entire quilt — 44,000 panels in all — is housed in Atlanta. But 25 panels are being sent to Reichard’s office in time for the AIDS walk.
Each of these panels contains six smaller panels, so in all, the portion of the quilt displayed at the Art Museum will memorialize 150 AIDS victims, many of them from the Philadelphia area.
"We get requests from people who want a specific panel displayed, and we try to honor those requests," says Reichard.
One such panel honors Philip Ferrara Jr., who lived in Northeast Philadelphia. His mother, Immy Ferrara, is founder of Mother’s Pledge, a group of mothers who lost sons and daughters to AIDS and who now work on behalf of AIDS awareness and fund-raising.
The AIDS walk gives participants a chance for a close-up look at this unique memorial.
"It’s such a beautiful piece of art," says Reichard. "Each of these panels is made with such care and love. You see the personality of the individual who is memorialized. And you realize the commitment, love and healing that each panel represents."
On Sunday, the quilt will be carefully laid at the base of the Art Museum, and it will stay in Philadelphia until Dec. 1, which is World AIDS Day. That’s when the AIDS Fund will have it on display at its headquarters in the William Way Community Center. Before that, Reichard also has plans to take it to several area high schools.
"It’s the first time we’ll have it for an extended length of time," he says.
The quilt is not the only way that the AIDS Walk will memorialize victims. Promptly at 7:30 a.m. on the Art Museum steps, there will be a reading of the names of AIDS victims, including those honored on the quilt and others who were Philadelphians.
Reichard will be one of the 30 readers who solemnly read the names.
"It’s one of my traditions every year," he says. "I always take time to do this. Those names include people I’ve known and lost. To me, one important reason we come together each year is to remember and honor those we’ve lost. We can’t forget them."
There are so many names that a full hour is set aside for the reading.
"And we can barely get all the names read in that time," says Reichard.
When the reading of names ends, the opening ceremony officially begins. That’s when Reichard gives a welcome speech. Mayor John Street is also scheduled to speak, and other speakers are from local AIDS organizations.
Then, at 9 a.m., the 12K walk begins at the Eakins Oval, in front of the steps of the Art Museum. The route goes up Kelly Drive, crosses the Falls Bridge and continues down Martin Luther King Drive back to Eakins Oval. The more athletic participants can do the AIDS Run, a 10K run that is USA Track and Field-certified.
The walk brings together friends, families, co-workers and classmates who often organize themselves into a team. Each team gets a free team photo taken before the walk.
Whether they walk in teams, pairs, or solo, it’s a spirited event. After the walk, which usually takes two to three hours, the Dukes of Destiny will perform, as they do each year. Pierre Robert of WMMR, Michaela Majoun of WXPN and Dawn Timmeney of NBC 10 will preside as emcees.
Each participant is requested to make a minimum pledge of $35, for which they receive an AIDS Walk Philly T-shirt. Last year’s walk drew 15,000 and raised $375,000, an impressive sum for a one-day event. Reichard hopes to top it this year and raise even more.
The money will go toward HIV education, awareness, and care services for people with HIV/AIDS in the Greater Philadelphia area. The cause is urgent, says Reichard.
"Thirty thousand of Philadelphia’s friends, family and neighbors live with HIV," he says. "We need everyone’s help now, more than ever."
Raising public awareness is an important goal of the high-profile AIDS Walk.
"It prompts people to talk about the issue," says Reichard, who knows well that the issue does demand attention.
"Now, with the advent of better treatments, people think the AIDS epidemic is over, but it’s not," he asserts, and he cites statistics to prove it: More than a million people in the U.S. are living with HIV/AIDS. It’s estimated that another 40,000 will become infected this year. Every 13 minutes, someone in the U.S. becomes infected with HIV.
Reichard not only knows the statistics. He has personally experienced losses over the years.
"In the early 1990s, I started seeing friends and acquaintances who were HIV positive," he recalls. "And there were no effective treatments at the time."
The impact on the gay community was devastating.
"You’d see people every week, and then suddenly you didn’t see them, and you heard they had died," he says.
That’s what happened to a waiter Reichard knew well when he himself waited tables at a Center City restaurant.
The loss was even more shocking when it was a good friend of Reichard’s.
"I stopped hearing from him and then didn’t see him for a long time," he says. "When I finally saw him again, he seemed to have aged twenty years. He died soon after."
Motivated by these losses, Reichard took part in his first AIDS walk in 1990. He was then housing coordinator for Peirce College, and offered to put together a team of Peirce students. He’s been actively involved ever since: this Sunday will be his 18th AIDS walk.
Although he started as a volunteer, he became so involved that in 1999, he was appointed associate director of the AIDS Fund and was promoted to executive director in 2004. The fund was established 21 years ago mainly to raise money through the AIDS walk, but it has expanded to include other activities.
In Reichard’s office, a colorful poster advertises Gay Bingo, which takes place monthly at the Gershman YMHA in Center City. Volunteers are on hand to help with this popular event, which is attended by gays and straights. And Reichard is there each month, too, putting in 10 hours, from set-up to clean-up.
He also does educational speaking, going into schools and colleges to talk about HIV prevention.
"Each year, we have new young people who need the information to protect themselves from being infected," he says.
But in recent weeks, he’s been totally focused on preparation for the big event Sunday, working non-stop to make sure everything is ready.
"We’re absolutely exhausted when it’s over," he says. "But it’s a good feeling to see thousands of people coming together for this. It leaves me feeling that we’ve made a difference in people’s lives." ••
Registration for the AIDS Walk Philly this Sunday starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Art Museum. For information or to register online, visit www.aidswalkphilly.org or call 215-731-WALK.