San Francisco AIDS Walk Photos
By Joanie Juster—
When AIDS Walk San Francisco began in 1987, we had no idea we would still need to do this work forty years later, and, yet, we do.
On Sunday, July 19, 2026, AIDS Walk San Francisco will mark its 40th anniversary of raising funds for Bay Area organizations that serve people with HIV and AIDS. This is a significant milestone, and we hope you will join us by walking with us in Golden Gate Park, or by donating.
My first AIDS Walk was in 1988. I remember it being a somber affair—people walking quietly through Golden Gate Park’s foggy pathways, many of us crying, all of us carrying the emotional weight of loss, or worry for our friends and loved ones who were sick. Hope was in short supply: The government wasn’t inclined to help, and there was no sign of a cure on the horizon. Even the few medications that were available were hard to access, and many were either toxic or ineffective. In those early days of AIDS, with nowhere else to turn, the community rose up to take care of its own, building organizations and alliances to care for the sick and dying. They needed money, however, to be able to do their work, and, out of that need, AIDS Walk was born.
Over the years, as medical breakthroughs led to more people living full lives with HIV instead of dying, AIDS Walk San Francisco adapted to meet the changing needs of the HIV/AIDS community. By 2015, the event was focused on supporting the most urgent needs of people living with HIV/AIDS. These included the emerging issue of HIV and aging, plus issues that have long been major factors of the epidemic: hunger, homelessness, discrimination, and poverty. Dedicated AIDS Walk funds made it possible for UCSF Zuckerberg General Hospital to open the Golden Compass program, a unit providing specialized care for HIV-positive people over age 50. And when COVID hit in 2020, causing disruptions in care to many with HIV, AIDS Walk pivoted once again to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.
Now, in 2026, as funding from both the government and corporate sources becomes scarcer, the funds raised by AIDS Walk take on increased importance. Thanks to AIDS Walk’s Co-Beneficiary program, and the hard work of the AIDS Walk production team, AIDS Walk has been able to grant back to the Co-Beneficiary teams 100% of what they had raised, plus additional grants. As anyone who has ever produced a fundraising event can attest, this is huge.
What drew me to this event in 1988 is what has kept me coming back year after year, decade after decade: it is at its heart a grassroots event where everyone can participate, no matter whether you raise $5 or $100,000, whether you can walk the full route or are “walking” virtually from your living room, or from halfway around the world. I love the fact that smaller organizations that serve the HIV and AIDS communities—some of which can’t afford to have a development department, or host galas—can raise money through AIDS Walk that might be difficult for them to do on their own. For those smaller organizations, whatever they raise through AIDS Walk, however modest, can make a big difference in their ability to continue providing vitally needed services.
There is another reason why AIDS Walk continues to speak to me. In a world that has largely moved on from HIV & AIDS, that doesn’t acknowledge or remember the devastation is has caused—and continues to cause around the world—AIDS Walk provides a community of people who gather each year because they remember, they care, and they want to continue being part of the solution. Sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will once again be on display in Robin Williams Meadow, as a powerful reminder of all those we lost to this pandemic, but also of the community’s compassionate response to that tragedy.
So, join us at AIDS Walk San Francisco on July 19! To become a walker, form a fundraising team, or make a donation to support any walker or team, just click the link at the website (https://sf.aidswalk.net/). We’d love to have you with us.
Joanie Juster is a long-time community volunteer, activist, and ally.
Published on July 16, 2026
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