Andrew D from San Diego Joins in the ride

[+ David-SF]

This year is going to be great fun on the Aidslifecycle especially for me.

the legendary, well hung, super hot, sexxxxxy, & my good friend has signed on to do the ride this year and we will be sharing a tent "YUM!!!"

so if the tent is a rocking ...... come on in.

I have hung out with him quite a bit over the past 10 months and seems to be one of the most generous and kind loving guys I know.

So this Is a late start for training and most importantly fundraising.

I dont know why he has not posted his link here yet but I want to give him a hand in meeting his goal.

since I have raised my minimum already I would love to help him get a good start on his.

http://www.tofighthiv.org/site/TR/AIDSLIFECYCLE8/AIDSLifeCycleCenter?px=1730102&pg=personal&fr_id=1070

 

BTW you can spread out payments over ten months.

which is something I did not know about till the other day so if you give 25 bucks a month for 10 months that 250 bucks!!!

 

Aidslifecycle as most of you know is the a major source of operating income for the San Francisco Aids foundation and

The Gay & Lesbien Center in LA

your support helps pay the bills , feeds shelters and assit's pwa live longer better lives

SFAF & G&LC helps prevent new infections all year long world wide.

through out reach and education.

check out their websites and see all the good work they do.

thanks for your help.

Love David-SF

PS. Another escort from this board is also doing the ride and I hope you will support him also this is a great cause and its hard work in these hard times fundraising cant be easy please see Steven Drakers profile for his lifecycle link it will be a great time and your support is greatly appreciated

[Cooper]

a check is on it's way

 

David, I was very moved by the sincerity of your post and your dedication to this worthy cause. I just printed out the "AIDS/LIFE CYCLE 8" donation form and your friend #6204 can expect a check from an anonymous and caring New Yorker.

 

Good luck with your journey....

 

Cooper

[BARR1965]

Go Riders Go Riders !!!!

 

David, Steven D and now Andrew D. My my my .... I will be in the lunch and rest stop areas. It would be such a pleasure serving you guys.

 

To all the members and lurkers who have donated to ALC, Thank You Very Much. And for the other members and lurkers who are thinking or have not, let us show support to these 3 gentlemen. Please consider donating to this worthy cause.

 

AIDS Life Cycle - is a life changing event!

[+ David-SF]

Opps I guess I forgot

 

Roadies are what makes ALC happen its much harder to be a roadie than a rider Barr1965 hopefully your fund raising goals have been met if not please send us the link to contribute or post it here I am certain many of us would like to support your efforts too.

[BARR1965]

Thanks

 

I have decided not to do fund raising this year instead I sent e-mails to my first friends with your link and Steven's. Now that Andrew have signed up, I will do the same thing.

[Guest andrewd]

Oh my.

 

‘the legendary, well hung, super hot, sexxxxxy...’ Who, who, whose the hottie tottie? Yaozza! Heck. Here I thought it was just gonna be me & the Tool King in that tent. Didn’t know it was gonna be three. Better git a double wide with good ventilation. Is their a model available with an orgy sized hot tub?

 

Thanks D. I appreciate your mention. Didn’t want to overwhelm the board with another donation request and affect yours and Steven’s fund raising efforts. Congrats on achieving your goal. Well done. Thanks for any and all help gentlemen. It is greatly appreciated. Thanks Coop, from #6204. I didn’t even know I had a number. And thanks to Barr for your gracious gift of time to support us. It’s very important to have a good athletic supporter.

 

Ride, baby, ride! Can’t wait.

[+ sf westcoaster]

Made my donation - can't think of a better way spend money. Wish you all a safe and enjoyable ride. As a resident of San Francisco I know first hand how critical funds are to the on-going fight against AIDS.

[+ David-SF]

The ride is getting closer

 

Thanks everyone for your support

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/1210/dirtbikeyn5.gif

[Guest andrewd]

I'll second that! Thank you very, very much!

[+ Lucky]

Made my donation - can't think of a better way spend money. Wish you all a safe and enjoyable ride. As a resident of San Francisco I know first hand how critical funds are to the on-going fight against AIDS.

 

I'm confused. The event is billed as benefiting people with AIDS, yet the only two beneficiaries are the SF AIDS Foundation and the LA Gay & Lesbian Community Center. We know that the AIDS Foundation is for people with AIDS, but the LA Center serves a multitude of purposes, so there is no way set as to how that money is to be used for people with AIDS.

 

Years ago the AIDS bike event was highly criticized for keeping most of the money raised in the promoter's hands. Yet I scoured the AIDS Life Cycle website, and cannot find anywhere that says how the money is to be divided. With fundraising down this year, does that mean the promoters cut their profits, or do they cut the money that goes to the two agencies and maintain their profit level?

 

(Please note, this is not a criticism of those participating.)

[Steven_Draker]

SFAF and LAGLC

 

I'm confused. The event is billed as benefiting people with AIDS, yet the only two beneficiaries are the SF AIDS Foundation and the LA Gay & Lesbian Community Center. We know that the AIDS Foundation is for people with AIDS, but the LA Center serves a multitude of purposes, so there is no way set as to how that money is to be used for people with AIDS.

 

Years ago the AIDS bike event was highly criticized for keeping most of the money raised in the promoter's hands. Yet I scoured the AIDS Life Cycle website, and cannot find anywhere that says how the money is to be divided. With fundraising down this year, does that mean the promoters cut their profits, or do they cut the money that goes to the two agencies and maintain their profit level?

 

(Please note, this is not a criticism of those participating.)

 

Hi Lucky,

You raise a very interesting and important question. I inquired about that last year and got the following reply from the oranizers of the event:

 

"I can start by letting you know that the two beneficiaries of

AIDS/LifeCycle, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles

Gay & Lesbian Center are also the producers of the event. They decided

to produce it themselves specifically so they could have control over

the costs involved and make sure that the most possible $ comes back to

their services.

 

That being said, I can direct you to the link on our website that gives

you the cost of fundraising from AIDS/LifeCycle 1-5. We have not gotten

the numbers back from ALC 6 (this past June) because we hire an outside

company to evaluate it and have yet to get them back.

 

Each year the cost of fundraising has gone down significantly and we

work very hard to get donations, underwriting, sponsors, etc. Most of

the work done on the event itself is done by Roadies, who volunteer

their time for the week.

 

The ride still does cost us though. It's a 7 day event that moves 3000

participants down the coast.

 

The money that does go into the ride itself still is not "wasted". The

ride itself generates national media attention, and is an education and

prevention tool. We create awareness and educate people who live in the

towns we ride through. We become a mobilized community of acceptance

and love committed to fighting HIV/AIDS. The phenomenon of the event itself

is, in my opinion, worth the cost of it."

 

Here's the link:

http://www.aidslifecycle.org/beneficiaries/measures.html

 

I hope this answers your question.

 

The Bike ride you mentioned about and that I'm aware of use to be the one from NYC to Boston (no longer exists, but that should be in a different topic)

 

BTW: Have any of you visited the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Community Center a few steps from Hollywood Blvd? You can do a free and anonymous HIV test which would take you just a few minutes of your time. Get tested, guys and take action !!

[+ Lucky]

Steven, the link you provided has been removed from the AIDS Life Cycle site. Yet I agree that the Ride draws attention to the continuing need for funds to research and treat AIDS. It is expensive to produce, at $750 per rider, a cost that most fundraisers don't have. It is good that the benefiting agencies have taken control of the event, as that does keep costs down. Yet billing it as an AIDS event might be misleading in the absence of real figures as to where the funds raised go. Does the LA Gay & Lesbian Center become legally obligated to use those funds only for AIDS related expenses, and, if so, who monitors that and where are the reports on it? Here is the mission statement of the LA Center, which shows that AIDS is only a part of their services:

 

What is the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center?

 

The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center provides a broad array of services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, welcoming nearly a quarter-million client visits from ethnically diverse youth and adults each year.

 

Through its Jeffrey Goodman Special Care Clinic and on-site pharmacy, the Center offers free and low-cost health, mental health, HIV/AIDS medical care and HIV/STD testing and prevention.

 

The Center also offers legal, social, cultural, and educational services, with unique programs for seniors, families and youth, including a 24-bed transitional living program for homeless youth.

[Steven_Draker]

Laglc

 

Lucky,

Thanks for the clarification,

 

Re: the LAGLC you forgot to mention that most of the people working there are VOLUNTEERS (they don't get paid).

 

Best regards,

[Steven_Draker]

broken link

 

Steven, the link you provided has been removed from the AIDS Life Cycle site.

 

The link, I provided has been changed since last year in order to include Life Cycle 7 event. Here's the new link and again, I apologize for any confusion.

 

http://www.aidslifecycle.org/beneficiaries/measures.html

 

PS: I'm still looking forward to reach the 5000 fundraising mark before Orientation Day

Check the latest update on: http://www.tofighthiv.org/goto/stevendraker

 

Best regards,

[+ Lucky]

Steven, thanks for the new link. It goes far to help understand some of the fundraising expenses, and it clarifies that the money sent to the LA organization is for AIDS-related activities. However, there seems to be no way to monitor this. Someone would have to be really dedicated to trace the funds given this statement:

"Helping donors and participants understand the important role their fundraising plays in supporting our HIV/AIDS programs is a key step in building a lasting relationship with our participants and long term confidence from donors. The website of each benefiting agency contains a wealth of information about our programs and services as well as annual reports and independently audited financial statements that account for AIDS/LifeCycle revenue and expenses as part of the audited results. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation's website is at http://www.sfaf.org and contains the most recent independent audit performed by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's website can be found at http://www.lagaycenter.org and contains the most recent independent audit performed by Vasquez & Company LLP.

 

AIDS/LifeCycle is not an independent legal entity and hence there are not separate AIDS/LifeCycle financial statements. Revenue and expenses for AIDS/LifeCycle are incorporated directly into the audited statements of each agency."

 

The last paragraph is the kicker for me, as we are left to wade through the financials of the two agencies to follow the money.

 

My bottom line: The AIDS/Life Cycle is one way to raise funds that provides participants an experience that they will remember, and will give them a physical opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to this cause.It is expensive to put on, and thus not the best way to raise funds, but hey, no rule says you shouldn't have fun doing it. Trying to keep everyone honest about where the money goes is no picnic. The AIDS Project LA would be, in my mind, the place where I would want to see the money go before it went to the Gay & Lesbian Center. But I can give my donations wherever I see fit, so I'll let others do the same.

[Guest greatness]

Good Luck

 

Steve I checked your AIDS Life Cycle funding raising and you were a little bit short for your goal of 5000. So I have donated some. Have fun riding a long distance and thank you for doing this.

[Steven_Draker]

AIDS/Life Cycle

 

I have personally found the ALC staff quite happy to answer any questions by phone or email.

 

And, for those still sitting on the fence, it's not too late to contribute. Every little bit helps!

 

This is a great event. I've experienced it first hand and I'm back again.

 

The Ride doesn't end until AIDS does!

[Guest andrewd]

some helpful advice

 

Steven, if you don't make the $5000 mark needed to get the commemorative jersey, I have some extra checks donated to me that you could use to put you over that mark. So if no one needs to meet their minimum of $3000, you are welcome to them.

 

I think you can also donate to yourself, if needed, as a last resort. Hope that helps.

 

The image of the jersey online, looks really cool.

[+ David-SF]

Sunday is the big day

 

Thanks for bringing this thread back up.

Steven being the ever seeking detective that he is for once I am very pleased to read your imformitive and helpful posts.

I dont moniter where all the money goes and I dont keep track of SFAF & LGLBC ability to render services to people in the my local community that are living with Aids and seeking information and prevention tools to avoid infection.

Because I know that these organizations help people in my community every day. Rent is paid meds are given food and clothing vouchers are issued and refferals to free medical care are given daily.

I have friends that have been unable to work for long periods of time a SFAF has stepped in and joined in helping.

so yes its proably an exspensive fundraiser but it also raises tons of money and every bit helps.

Its an honor to be able to do any small deed that may bring a little relief to others less fortunate. Give where you can and do what you can and everyone wins.

I am grateful to everyone that has helped me in my fundraising I did not make my goal but I am happy for the amount I raised i know its money that will help in any small way.

xo David

[Guest greatness]

David you've reached the goal!

 

Well I've just donated a little amount to reach your goal. To all of you who participate in this ride I can't thank you enough and I am grateful of those who are willing to help others when you guys can just work and don't bother. Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy your ride!

 

 

 

Thanks for bringing this thread back up.

Steven being the ever seeking detective that he is for once I am very pleased to read your imformitive and helpful posts.

I dont moniter where all the money goes and I dont keep track of SFAF & LGLBC ability to render services to people in the my local community that are living with Aids and seeking information and prevention tools to avoid infection.

Because I know that these organizations help people in my community every day. Rent is paid meds are given food and clothing vouchers are issued and refferals to free medical care are given daily.

I have friends that have been unable to work for long periods of time a SFAF has stepped in and joined in helping.

so yes its proably an exspensive fundraiser but it also raises tons of money and every bit helps.

Its an honor to be able to do any small deed that may bring a little relief to others less fortunate. Give where you can and do what you can and everyone wins.

I am grateful to everyone that has helped me in my fundraising I did not make my goal but I am happy for the amount I raised i know its money that will help in any small way.

xo David

[Guest greatness]

well

 

Well when you do a fundraising the cost will be always high no matter what kind of a fundraising you do. You have to get sponsors, promote the fundraising and there are millions things you have to consider. Getting money out of people is not EASY! Yes AIDS/Life Cycle can look expensive, however, in the long run, it has been an effective way of brining money in. Most of all people's genuine sacrifice to put their own time and money into this event is the most amazing thing you can experience. In my opinion money should be spent in various projects. Yes AIDS Project LA is important but money comes from all around the world. In my opinion, raised funds should certainly go to Gay and Lesbian center too.

 

 

 

My bottom line: The AIDS/Life Cycle is one way to raise funds that provides participants an experience that they will remember, and will give them a physical opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to this cause.It is expensive to put on, and thus not the best way to raise funds, but hey, no rule says you shouldn't have fun doing it. Trying to keep everyone honest about where the money goes is no picnic. The AIDS Project LA would be, in my mind, the place where I would want to see the money go before it went to the Gay & Lesbian Center. But I can give my donations wherever I see fit, so I'll let others do the same.

[+ David-SF]

Thanks Greatness!!!

 

Thanks !!

That is very kind of you I had my goal very high and never thought I would be able to raise that much but I am very happy that the goal was met. very nice of you. AndrewD is primping in the bathroom (primadonna) we are headed out to orientaion day zero and then I must run to my friends memorial service.

its a bittersweet day but i am very excited to get on my bike again but more importantly I will be able to finally say goodbye to my dear sweet friend and mentor who pass away while I was in Vegas last month from Aids. he fought for almost 30 years and passed peacefully on a sunny afternoon. I can not tell you how hard it was to maintain my composure and not fall apart while on an appointment for 3 more days in some way it was a blessing but now I feel like I can be with my friends and say good bye and celebrate his amazing life have a great day everyone

xo David

[Steven_Draker]

Thank you !!!

 

Steve I checked your AIDS Life Cycle funding raising and you were a little bit short for your goal of 5000. So I have donated some. Have fun riding a long distance and thank you for doing this.

 

Greatness, thank you for your donation !

Thanks to you I reached my goal of $ 5000 just under the wire. I appreciate all the effort you do for this cause.

 

Also I'd like to thank all my other contributors and sponsors, since 90% of the money I raised came from posters/readers/lurkers who saw me here.

 

Mille grazia !

 

My best,

[Guest greatness]

By the way

 

You look hot in that AIDS/LIFE cycle website. I think it was wise for me not to go on a ride. It is clear that I will surly get into an accident staring at you when you pass by me. Good luck and have fun.

 

 

Greatness, thank you for your donation !

Thanks to you a reached my goal of $ 5000 just under the wire. I appreciate all the effort you do for this cause.

 

Also I'd like to thank all my other contributors and sponsors, since 90% of the money I raised came from posters/readers/lurkers who saw me here.

 

Mille grazia !

 

My best,[/color]

[Steven_Draker]

You look hot in that AIDS/LIFE cycle website. I think it was wise for me not to go on a ride. It is clear that I will surly get into an accident staring at you when you pass by me. Good luck and have fun.

 

I'm sorry to hear that you're not going to attend the Event (as a rider) ... I still hope that we'll cross paths on the road down to L.A.

 

ON YOUR LEFT ... ON YOUR LEFT ...

(inside joke)