Mar 6, 2019

Gift For Life/DIFFA team rallies design community to Support 2019 AIDS Walk New York

Gift for Life, the gift, stationery and home decor industries’ sole national charitable organization, is teaming-up with Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) to rally the design community’s support for the 2019 AIDS Walk New York. The Gift for Life/DIFFA team will step-out together to raise funds for GMHC on Sunday, May 19, against the backdrop of NYCxDESIGN, the 13-day, city-wide celebration of design.

The Gift For Life/DIFFA team invites all NYCxDESIGN participants to join the fight against HIV/AIDS both as walkers and as donors. The 10 kilometer (6.2 mile) walk starts at 10:00 a.m., rain or shine, in Central Park. Supporters can also join the team as “virtual walkers” allowing them to fundraise for the team without participating in the actual walk on May 19, 2019.

“NYCxDESIGN is pleased to provide additional support for the design community’s fundraising for this important cause,” said Edward Hogikyan, CMO of the NYCEDC (New York City Economic Development Corporation). “AIDS Walk NY, Gift For Life, and DIFFA provide greatly needed support and resources of which NYCxDESIGN is proud to be a part.”

Over the last seven years, the Gift for Life team has raised more than $170,000 for GMHC, the beneficiary of AIDS Walk New York. For the last five years, the team has been recognized with “GOLD Team” status, which is bestowed upon the top 20 fundraising teams from each year. The GFL team total donation includes a generous $5,000 matching grant from Gift For Life’s beneficiary, DIFFA: Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. With DIFFA on board again, the team has set a fundraising goal of $30,000 for 2019.

“DIFFA has supported the Gift For Life team’s fundraising efforts each May with a $5,000 matching grant for GMHC,” said Ilene Shaw, a DIFFA Board Member and Design Pavilion organizer. “DIFFA is delighted to raise the profile of this worthy cause within the design community through our team co-sponsorship this year.” Starting on May 10, Shaw’s Design Pavilion – one the NYCxDESIGN’s most public-facing design-related activities given its Times Square location – will include a DIFFA table at which donations and walker registrations will be accepted.

Now in its 34th year, AIDS Walk New York has inspired nearly 890,000 people to walk and millions more to donate, raising nearly $150 million to combat HIV and AIDS. The funds raised at the event remain a vital lifeline sustaining the prevention, care, and advocacy programs GMHC provides for the thousands of individuals affected by the disease in the tri-state area. The proceeds also benefit dozens of other HIV/AIDS service organizations that are able to participate as teams and raise funds through the Community Partnership Program (CPP).