Feast 2 FIGHT AIDS @ Smokin’ Chick’s Starts Wed. 11/2 (all 5 Wednesdays in Nov.)

That’s right! Our friends at Smokin’ Chick’s Barbecue will be cooking up some of their trademark good eats for the cause EVERY WEDNESDAY in November–so put it on your calendar and print out the flyer today. First Wednesday is 11/2.

All you have to do is bring in one of our Feast_2_Fight_AIDS_Flyers (PDF), and Chick and Lissa and company will donate 15% of what you spend to Trail to a Cure. (And that flyer is 2-to-a-page for a reason–share half with a friend!)

Great ribs!

Great pulled pork!

Even a Memphis sandwich!

If you’re not sure what to order, try the brisket! Check out the entire  menu.

Why not support this locally owned small business while also helping cover the costs for Trail to a Cure’s annual Ride/Walk/Run in May (this year, it’s on Cinco de Mayo!)–making sure all the proceeds from that event that are raised by participants go to the cause.

Go ahead. You won’t regret it!

The Check’s in the Mail…Let’s Celebrate!

Thanks to all of the amazing event participants, volunteers, and sponsors of Trail to a Cure’s Ride/Walk/Run 2011, three deserving beneficiary organizations are receiving funding in keeping with Trail to a Cure’s mission.

Locally, Rain of Central Missouri is receiving funding to support services for those living with HIV/AIDS in Rain’s service area. These funds fill important gaps that grants and other programs do not meet.

Also local to Columbia, Trail to a Cure has provided some funding to help support the HIV/AIDS research work at Bond Life Sciences Center on the campus of the University of Missouri. (If you aren’t familiar, be sure to check out the great work of Drs. Donald Burke-Aguero, Marc Johnson, and Stefan Sarafianos.)

And at the national level, Trail to a Cure has provided support to amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.

In only four years of existence, Trail to a Cure has raised $52,000 for its beneficiaries. That would not be possible without all of you, our event participants, fundraiser participants, business and individual sponsors and other partners. Thank you!

To celebrate, join TTAC folks at this month’s Feast 2 FIGHT AIDS at Broadway Brewery (July 6th). Be sure to bring the F2FA_Flyer!

And remember that next year’s event will be a big deal: it’s our fifth event and it’s on the first Saturday in May, which is Cinco de Mayo!

Feast 2 FIGHT AIDS TTAC Fundraiser is Wed. July 6 at Broadway Brewery

Eat/drink at Broadway Brewery on the first Wednesday in July–that’s the 6th, the way we count.

Enjoy tempting menu items from the lunch or dinner menus–items like the P.B.L.T., pork chop, pulled pork, pizza (things that start with “P” are all good!), one of their awesome appetizers, or their vegetarian-friendly polenta plate–that’s creamy polenta cakes covered with a summer vegetable ragout and fresh chevre. It starts with “P”–just saying.

Great beers brewed on-site and great food–what more could you want? Okay: dessert!

Take a F2FA flyer with you, and give it to the friendly staff there.

Then they will donate 15% of what you spend to Trail to a Cure–this helps ensure that 100% of the participant-raised funds at the 5th annual Trail to a Cure Ride/Walk/Run goes to our beneficiaries to support their work fighting HIV/AIDS.

You can feel good about doing something we all have to do: eat!

And hey–why not follow them on Facebook? And us?

Thank you for supporting Trail to a Cure!

P.S.:  Need a reminder? Try RSVP’ing via our Facebook event!

This just in: Tomorrow’s Feast 2 FIGHT AIDS dining out event is at Room 38

The first Wednesday of the month is typically Feast 2 FIGHT AIDS day at Trail to a Cure.

Wednesday, June 1st is no different–and this time, it’s at Room 38 in downtown Columbia.

They open at 11 am, so consider lunch, dinner, or happy hour.

Be sure to bring the flyer! Hand it to your server or bartender when paying your bill, and 15% of what you spend goes to Trail to a Cure. How easy is that?

Please share this info with your friends and plan to get together at Room 38!

There is a lot of good stuff on their menu, whether you’re going for food, drinks, or both.

TTAC 2011 Event Sponsors

Thank you to all of the generous businesses that provided monetary or in-kind support to help ensure that 100% of participant-raised funds go to our beneficiary organizations. Please tell them you appreciate their support for TTAC when patronizing them.

For links, visit our sponsors page.

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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!