TTAC Profile: Dr. Marc Johnson, runner and HIV/AIDS researcher

Dr. Marc Johnson has participated in TTAC by running the 10K and attending many Feast 2 FIGHT AIDS dining out fundraisers, but the cause is more than a one-day event for him. He also researches HIV/AIDS at the University of Missouri’s Bond Life Sciences Center. Keep reading for news about his work and what’s happening in HIV/AIDS research.

Why did you get involved in TTAC?
I’ve been involved in AIDS research for many years, but my work is far from the clinical. I wanted to feel more connected with a local community affected by HIV/AIDS.

How did you get involved in HIV/AIDS research?
I am trained as a virologist and I wanted to be part of a larger community studying the same virus/disease. HIV is studied by hundreds of labs, and although it is a great challenge (finding a vaccine, better treatments, and hopefully a cure), it also holds a lot of potential. HIV research helps unlock the secrets of how our bodies work, and is likely to contribute to future gene therapy applications for other diseases.

What is your favorite TTAC experience?
The 10k was a lot of fun.

What should people know about what’s happening in HIV/AIDS research?
It’s good and bad.

What’s good is that therapies are getting much better, more potent, and less toxic. The world community is doing a better job at making therapies affordable and delivering them to the people who need them.

What’s bad is that we still haven’t found a way through treatment of eliminating the last reservoirs of HIV infected cells in the body, thus, there still is no cure for an HIV infection. Unfortunately, a vaccine for HIV still appears to be a long way away.

Learn more about HIV/AIDS research at BLSC.

TTAC’s 4th Annual Ride/Walk/Run is 2 Weeks from Today!

Today would be a great day to register online to ride, walk, or run. The big event is Saturday, May 7 on the Katy Trail in Rocheport.

The process is simple, and the event is fun and appropriate for all people: young/less young, athletic/couch potato, human/canine. There are options to walk or run or ride a bicycle on the Katy Trail for varying distances, and frankly, the trail police aren’t clocking anyone, so if 10K seems too far to walk–no sweat! Do what you’re comfortable with!

Here are the official options:

Ride (18 mi.), Ride (32 mi.), Ride (50 mi.), Walk (10K), Run (10K),  or Run (18 mi.)–events start at different times so that most participants will finish at approximately 2 pm. But why does the end time matter?

It’s important because there’s a fun celebration of TTAC’s work for the year at Les Bourgeois Winery and Bistro’s A-Frame atop the bluffs–and it starts at 2 pm.

That features live music, a “silent raffle” for a variety of cool items, a raffle for a sweet bike, food and fun! And of course, the great beverages that Les Bourgeois is known for.

100% of funds raised by participants go to our beneficiaries, which include Rain of Central Missouri for services for those living with HIV/AIDS, and to amfAR for research into a cure.

Our online fundraising tools make it simple to raise funds, and we keep the fundraising window open until one month after the event.

All of the information you need to participate in the event is included in our event participant packet (PDF).

Still have questions? Shoot us an email — we’ll get you answers!

TTAC Profile: Angie Rush, walker and fundraiser

Angie Rush is a Trail to a Cure dynamo. Angie has walked in every TTAC and has been the event’s top fundraiser every year. Over the years, she’s raised more than $4,200, and has set a goal of $2,000 this year. She now serves on the TTAC Board of Directors. Read on for her TTAC experiences, and fundraising tips.

How did you get interested in TTAC?
Two of my close friends were on the original Board and, along with several others, played fundamental roles in the creation of TTAC. Knowing all the hard work they put into it, I had to say yes when asked to participate. Before beginning my fundraising I checked out the information provided by TTAC and did further research. I knew about the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa, and I knew there was and is a large problem in the United States. What I did not know was how scary the statistics had become in the US. Vast strides have been made in research, but there is still so much to be done. And there still seems to be so much ignorance and complacency regarding HIV/AIDS. I wanted to help raise awareness.

Why is TTAC important to you?
My first year, I encountered some prejudice against the cause from some surprising places. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of people who not only discriminate against gay people, but still believe that HIV/AIDS only affects gay men and drug users. This made me incredibly sad and angry. TTAC has inspired and motivated me to fight the ignorance. TTAC gives me hope that things will change.

What’s your favorite TTAC moment or memory?
Every time I receive a donation is an excellent moment! The first bellydance show I coordinated as a TTAC fundraiser was an incredible evening. The spontaneous cheering and encouragement from other TTAC participants on the trail always makes me smile. And of course, the year a bunch of people signed-up their dogs as participants and we had this crazy mess of happy dogs and crossed leashes is a great memory. It still makes me chuckle.

What’s your advice for fundraising? 
Talk to everyone you know – you never know who is willing to donate until you ask. Sure, it’s disappointing when you don’t get a response, but the times you do get a positive response make up for it by a long-shot. Be creative – have a party, do a raffle, find something silly or interesting to auction to the highest donor. Above all, have fun.

What are some of the things you’ve done for fundraising?
Bellydance shows
Created a t-shirt to wear the day of the event and asked businesses to donate in exchange for putting their logo on my shirt (Angie’s Fave Four)
Sold Avon products. A friend who is an Avon rep donated her commission for everything I sold on her behalf.
Passion Parties. Again, the rep donated her commission for all products sold at the party.
Collected spare change from everyone I knew every time we went out
Brought homemade treats to the office and put a collection tin next to them
Martini parties
Raffles–items varying from gift certificates to restaurants & stores, tickets to shows, dance lessons, etc.
Auctioned the right to pick a silly picture of me to post on my fundraising page
Lots of Facebook posting
Email, email, email, and email

Have you won the top fundraiser every year?
So far, but I’m hoping someone will beat me this year.

Feast 2 FIGHT AIDS-April Wednesdays @ Jazz; Event Registration Discount

Every Wednesday in April at Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen-home of lots of great grub, including the Oyster Po’Boy. Here’s the flyer you’ll need to take with you in order for 15% of your tab to be donated to Trail to a Cure.

All funds raised through Trail to a Cure’s Feast 2 FIGHT AIDS fundraisers help to ensure that 100% of the funds raised by participants in the annual Trail to a Cure Ride/Walk/Run event the first Saturday in May go to the cause.

In the first three years of the annual event, we have raised $41,000 to help provide funds for research into a cure for HIV/AIDS and to provide services for those living with HIV/AIDS in central Missouri.

You can sign up and begin raising funds TODAY. Advance registration is discounted–and the discount deadline is approaching, so register now.