ABOUT AIDS WALK NY
AIDS Walk New York is the world’s largest and most visible HIV/AIDS fundraising event.
41st Annual AIDS Walk New York
Join us on Sunday, May 17, 2026 for the 41st Annual AIDS Walk New York. Rain or shine, thousands of people will gather in Central Park, united by the common cause to sustain GMHC’s lifesaving services for New Yorkers living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.
In 2025, our community raised more than $1.9 million for GMHC. We’re aiming to top that this year, when we walk for the 136,000 people in New York City living with HIV. We walk for the almost 1,800 New Yorkers diagnosed with HIV each year. And we won’t stop walking until the HIV and AIDS epidemic are over.
AIDS Walk New York is an expression of our resilience, as we stride together toward a future where everyone has access to HIV testing, treatment, and care services. It’s a demonstration of solidarity against HIV and AIDS stigma, a gathering in remembrance of those we’ve lost — and a celebration of our ongoing care for each other through good times and bad, no matter the weather.
It’s also fun! In the past, we’ve had Broadway stars, fabulous drag queens, and more! At AIDS Walk New York, we rally to change the world and rejoice in our community.
We Won’t Stop
As we look forward to our 41st Walk, we honor how far we’ve come and renew our energies for the work ahead.
In the face of daunting public stigma and government silence about the devastating disease, Craig R. Miller started AIDS Walk New York in 1986 to raise money for GMHC to help people who were dying of AIDS-related complications, and to lobby the government for research and treatment. Miller realized it was up to our community to take action on our own behalf — just as GMHC’s six founders did when they launched Gay Men’s Health Crisis in 1982.
Born out of the anguish felt by gay men whose neighborhoods were ravaged by the early HIV and AIDS epidemic — from Greenwich Village to Harlem — they joined with New York’s diverse communities of art, culture, and commerce to effect change together. In the years since, AIDS Walk New York has been energized by activists who know that ending HIV and AIDS requires more than fighting the virus. It also means confronting social ills, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and poverty.
With each year, the Walk grows. In 1986, a little more than 4,500 walkers joined us to raise $710,000 for GMHC. Since then, AIDS Walk New York has raised $170 million for dozens of HIV and AIDS service organizations in the tri-state area — and its main beneficiary is still GMHC.
Hundreds of AIDS Walks have formed worldwide over the decades, creating a powerful movement that has increased awareness and decreased stigma around HIV and AIDS. AIDS Walk New York is the only one in Central Park.
The Road Ahead
When the Walk started, there was no medication to manage and prevent HIV and AIDS. We also faced AIDS denialism about the reality of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. While there is still no cure for HIV, we now have effective treatment and prevention medications so people can live long, healthy lives.
As the nature of the HIV and AIDS epidemic has changed, it’s under-resourced communities who are most affected now. These communities face barriers to accessing life-saving HIV testing and medications, as well as to housing, health care, mental health support, and the other life-saving services that GMHC delivers. What’s more, HIV and AIDS disproportionately affect people of color — almost 77% of New Yorkers living with HIV are Black or Latinx.
And in a fraught political climate, we’re facing new threats — both to HIV and AIDS funding, and to the well-being of people living with HIV and AIDS.
We’ve been here before, and we won’t stop.
We walk to remember those we’ve lost.
We walk to help those living with HIV and AIDS to thrive.
We walk to meet new needs for the growing number of long-term survivors.
We walk in solidarity with everyone affected by the epidemic.
We walk to fight stigma and AIDS denialism.
We walk to resist new political challenges.
We walk to celebrate all who keep up the fight.
FEATURED SPONSOR
Special Thanks To
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