December 1: World AIDS Day

December 1st is World AIDS Day and San Diego will be hosting some notable events.

Since 1988, World AIDS Day has brought global awareness to AIDS and UC San Diego will be hosting various ACT AWARE events from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 1, including a public viewing of portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in the Price Center East Ballroom, the lobby of the UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest, and the lobby of the UC San Diego Thornton Hospital in La Jolla.

The UCSD display will showcase sections of the quilt that have emerged from San Diego organizations and individuals as they have responded to the AIDS crisis, from the early years of the epidemic through the present day.

All events are free and open to the public including free, anonymous rapid HIV testing on Library Walk to UCSD staff, faculty and students. A limited number of reservations will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Appointment times are available at http://studenthealth.ucsd.edu/hivrapidtest.shtml

A full list of UCSD events can be viewed at http://lgbt.ucsd.edu/worldaidsday//

Then Friday, Dec. 3, NextAid, will host a San Diego campaign at Spin Nightclub (2028 Hancock St, San Diego, CA 92110) to raise funds and awareness for AIDS orphans and other vulnerable children in Africa with Jon Bishop & Brian Millar – Tidy Tracks, Fired Up! Records, Turbo Teen – (Donut Fresh), Jason Tokita – (Injoy), Eric Yo! – (Propaganda), Bassmechanic – (FTS!), Austin Speed & CRMNL – (Rogue Dubs, Sublmnl), RFX (Goodghost), Arkon (Dragon Lounge), Chris Gardener (Bramble Republic) and Rebellion (DnB.tv).  Friday’s NextAid event will run from 10pm to 4am – $5 til Midnight / $ 8 After.

NextAid is a leading nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of music to support sustainable development projects that serve vulnerable children, youth and women in Africa. Celebrating its fourth year of World AIDS Day Campaign of events (WAD2010), the proceeds of this event will support NextAid’s current projects in Africa including the construction an eco-friendly micro-enterprise facility for youth, the education of orphaned children, and critical maternal health programs for girls and women.

For more information about NextAid and the WAD2010 events visit:  http://www.nextaid.org/wad2010.

For more information on World AIDS Day visit http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/

Attributing source: San Diego Recognizes World AIDS Day | NBC San Diego, photo from Nachoun via Wikimedia