Runners
Mike Sacco and
Lejon Boudreaux have set out on a quest to help raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in the African American community. As part of their plan, the pair strapped on their Nike’s and left San Francisco heading for Los Angeles averaging over 26.2 miles a day to show their support for the Test 1 Million project.
The campaign, which kicked of last June at the Screen Actors Guild headquarters, is designed to encourage one million members of the black community to get tested for the disease by National HIV Testing day on June 27, 2009.
Sacco, 26, who came up with the idea to combine his love of running with the need for HIV/AIDS awareness, enlisted the help of Boudreaux and ran the entire way from the Golden Gate Bridge to Niketown in Los Angeles wearing Test 1 Million t-shirts and accompanied by a logo clad pace car to bring awareness to the cause.
According to latest statistics from the CDC, HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects African Americans in the United States. Nearly half of the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS are Black and 54 percent of all new HIV infections in the United States are among Black Americans.
The “Run in a Million," quest is a part of a larger "Test 1 Million" campaign sponsored by the Black AIDS Institute in partnership with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), and other leading national Black organizations.
The mission was launched by celebrities like
Regina King,
Jimmy Jean Louis and
Vanessa Williams, who were tested last year to show their support and to encourage others to get tested.
"When Mike first walked into my office, I thought ,'wow, here is a white guy who understands that the AIDS epidemic is not over and we all have a moral epidemic to do everything in our power to fight this deadly disease until it is over'," said
Phill Wilson, founder and executive director of the Black AIDS Institute in a press release about the event.
The pair, who were joined by other celebrities and HIV activists along their trip, finished the run on December 14th.
"I couldn't think of anything better than to combine my joy of running and my desire to do something about HIV/AIDS.,” Sacco said in his statement to the Black Aids Institute about the trip. “It seems like these days everyone is waiting for the next big thing. People forget about the power of one. One person can make a difference."
