World AIDS Day is an annual observance aimed at raising awareness of the global epidemic of AIDS and the spread of HIV.
Please join us for the Annual World AIDS Day Community Carnation Memorial at the 519 Centre. Join us as we celebrate our community, the lives of friends and loved ones, and to look to the future
Thursday December 1, 2016 @5:45pm
The 519 Community Centre Ballroom – 519 Church St, Toronto
World AIDS Day occurs on December 1 and was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to facilitate the exchange of information among national and local governments, international organizations, and individuals. When the first World AIDS Day was held in 1988, an estimated 90,000 to 150,000 people were infected with HIV. Within two decades more than 33 million people were living with HIV infection, and since 1981, when the first AIDS case was reported, some 25 million people died of the disease. As a result, AIDS awareness became increasingly concerned with educating societies about HIV/AIDS through the unification and monetary support of international organizations.
PWA is proud to come together each year to honour and remember those we have lost and to support those living with HIV/AIDS. Inspired by Jim St. James, one of the founders of PWA, cards that said “We Understand” were attached with a black ribbon to a long-stemmed scarlet rose dipped in black except for the petals. In 2015 PWA introduced the We Understand message board on our website. In the week leading up to World AIDS Day, December 1, take a moment to share your message of understanding. Together we are stronger, united in one common goal to support, reduce stigma, and celebrate how far we have come.
“We Understand……………………that life is fleeting and we need to care for and love as many people as much as we can before we regret it.” Anonymous
“We Understand…………………………To everyone living with or had AIDS in the world I would like to open my heart and say that we are not alone, we are one” Anonymous
To visit our “We Understand” Page go to:
https://www.pwatoronto.org/we-understand/
