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Community Corner

Action Cycling announces 2014 totals, presents checks

In twelve years since a group of cyclists formed Action Cycling Atlanta to raise awareness and support for the Emory Vaccine Center at Emory University, the nonprofit has raised more than $1.8 million. All proceeds from the group’s annual 200-mile bike ride benefit AIDS vaccine research and Atlanta HIV/AIDS service organizations.

 

This past May, the group raised $223,000 through the latest AIDS Vaccine 200 (AV200) ride; the fundraising total was announced at a recent check presentation event. The Emory Vaccine Center received $163,100 from this year’s ride; the other beneficiaries were Positive Impact, $15,400, Jerusalem House, $27,000, and AID Atlanta, $17,500.

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Action Cycling has begun planning its 13th AV200 Ride, which will be May 16-17, 2015. Registration is open August 1 at www.av200.org.

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“I think the ride has been so successful because we have maintained the original mission, which was to donate 100 percent of rider fundraising to our beneficiaries and to remain an all-volunteer organization,” says Leon Morales, president of Action Cycling Atlanta. “Being an all-volunteer organization gives people more of a sense of community around the ride.”

 

Action Cycling’s steering committee consists of about 15 volunteer members who work year-round to organize the ride and gather corporate sponsorships. Sponsorships and event registration pay for the operations of the annual ride, which has allowed ACA to donate 100 percent of rider fundraising to the Emory Vaccine Center and AIDS service organizations in Atlanta.

 

Action Cycling Atlanta was formed in 2003 by a group of cyclists who had participated in other charity cycling events benefitting AIDS researchers and patients. Dismayed that more of the money raised by such rides did not reach beneficiaries, they decided to create their own nonprofit. The unrestricted funds provided to the Emory Vaccine Center by ACA fill funding gaps that cannot be met through grant dollars alone.

 

"An effective HIV/AIDS vaccine remains the most challenging and the most essential goal in the world’s fight against this challenging disease,” says Rafi Ahmed, PhD, director of the Emory Vaccine Center and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. "Scientists continue to make significant progress in creating vaccines to prevent and treat HIV infection, and the Emory Vaccine Center is at the forefront of this effort.”

 

Action Cycling is accepting applications for our Board of Directors, and you don’t have to be a cyclist to participate. If interested, please submit this 2015 Action Cycling Board Application online: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RLF3V3Y. The deadline is July 31, 2014. Board committees include rider recruitment, logistics, social media, training, marketing, sponsorship, and logistics. Also, upcoming events include dine-outs and deck parties, with dates and locations to be determined.

 

The Emory Vaccine Center is one of the largest academic vaccine centers in the world and is renowned for its expertise in cellular immunity and immune memory. It is the only university-based vaccine research center in the United States to have an AIDS vaccine candidate in clinical trials.

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