TTAC 2017 Ride/Walk/Run Registration Now Open

Mark Your Calendars!   Saturday, May 6, 2017

Truman says Register TODAY

Registration is now open for the the TENTH annual Trail to a Cure Ride/Walk/Run Event on the Katy Trail in Rocheport, MO!

Remember: advance registration is discounted!

Fundraising is also live, so event participants are STRONGLY encouraged to create fundraising pages via the Firstgiving site while registering.

Participants are cautioned to read the 2017 Event_Participant_Packet carefully.

And be sure to plan to attend the family friendly post-event celebration at the Rocheport Trailhead after the event for free live music, free food for event participants (also available for purchase by guests), a cash bar, raffle drawings, and a medaling ceremony for our runners.

5K runners hit the trail!

Follow us on Facebook and mark yourself as “going” to the Facebook event to make sure you don’t miss any announcements!

50-mile riders take off!

Help us build on the $106,000+ that we have raised in our first 9 years. And help support the work of our local beneficiary organizations as they FIGHT HIV/AIDS:

• MU Bond Life Sciences Center – Research into treatments/cure
• Spectrum Health Care – formerly Rain-Central Missouri, Inc. – Services for those living with HIV/AIDS 
  

  Help these HIV/AIDS researchers extend their lab staff hours.

  Have questions?

  Shoot us an email at info@AIDStrailtoacure.org or send us a PM on our Facebook page — or leave a message at 573/268-3841.

  

  10K walkers finish the event.

Trail to a Cure raises $106K+ for HIV/AIDS Research/Services

The Ride/Walk/Run event in May is TTAC’s major fundraiser for the year, but it’s far from our ONLY one. This year, we had a bonus fundraiser at Logboat Brewing. It was a hot one, but fun, and it added some more cash to our cause. Thanks also to Smokin’ Chick’s for being there!

Because of this late fundraiser, though, we’re a bit later than usual in making the awards of funds to our beneficiary organizations.

This year, we were able to provide $12,100 to our 3 beneficiary organizations. This means that in our first nine years, we’ve raised $106,100 to fight HIV/AIDS!  Not bad for an all-volunteer, grassroots organization, if we do say so ourselves.

Thank you to our sponsors, event participants and volunteers! It doesn’t happen without you.

Checks will be on their way to these great organizations shortly!

Rain will receive a check to help individuals who are living with HIV/AIDS in Rain’s central Missouri service area with unmet emergency needs in the categories of food, utilities, housing, medical services, final arrangements, and more.

Bond Life Science Center’s HIV/AIDS researchers (and TTAC event participants): Stefan Sarafianos, Ph.D.; Marc Johnson, Ph.D.; Donald Burke-Aguero, Ph.D.

MU’s Bond Life Sciences Center‘s HIV/AIDS researchers will be receiving a check to help put more enthusiastic undergraduate students into the labs with Bond’s crack researchers, exposing undergrads to HIV/AIDS research as active researchers alongside nationally known virologists before they move on to graduate or medical school. TTAC funds extend the number of research hours, and may help lead to better treatments or even a cure while also introducing young scientists to this great work!

amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, will also be receiving a check to help fund cutting-edge research at a national level.

TTAC Ride/Walk/Run 2017 planning is underway. Registration will be open very soon. Arment Enterprises has agreed to be our lead sponsor again next year!

Please plan to join us on the TRAIL TO A CURE–always the first Saturday in May!

 

World AIDS Day/Week – One More Opportunity!

Greetings, TTAC’ers!

If you participated in any of this past week’s World AIDS Day activities, you know how moving and educational they have been. I’d venture to say it has been Columbia’s best World AIDS Day observance ever–at least in my 30 years here.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt was on display at Jesse Hall and Bond Life Sciences Center on the MU Campus. (Shoutout to Kevin, one of my departed friends, whose panel was included).

Two of TTAC’s founders (Liz Rettke and me) participated in an amazing panel discussion, “A Day in the Life of HIV,” along with MU’s chancellor, HIV/AIDS researchers, our friends at RAIN, city/county Health and the MU LGBTQ resource center, MU Student Health, and of course Greg Louganis. We hope to get to post a video of the panel on our social media channels, so watch for that!

There was a  Health Resource Fair and free HIV testing available.

The main event was Greg Louganis’ lecture: “Don’t Let HIV Write your Story,” which was phenomenal.

There has been plenty of media coverage of these events, so if you want to learn more, a quick Google will get you all the details you want. Most are linked on Bond LSC’s Facebook Page.

What’s left you ask?

Well there’s a free screening of the documentary about Greg: Back on Board!

It’s at 7 pm on Monday, December 7 in Bond Life Science Center’s Monsanto Auditorium.

There are even going to be refreshments!

Trail to a Cure has been honored to be included in all of this year’s events.

In Memory, Honor, and Hope,

Scott (an the rest of the TTAC board)

PS: for photos of events all week, also refer to Bond’s Facebook page!