FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2005

CONTACT: Dawn Stewart, founder-CEO of the Caribbean People International Collective Inc.
718 282-WALK or 703 441-2619, [email protected]

New York: On June 11, 2005, the Caribbean Peoples International Collective will hold its 5th annual AIDS Walk Caribbean®. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has evolved from one centered on gay white men to one largely affecting people of color, women and youths. True to its mission of improving the general health and standard of living of Caribbean-Americans and the people of the Caribbean region, CPIC has organized AIDS Walk Caribbean® to raise funds to support its many programs which increase awareness of the scope of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the Caribbean American Community; provide intensive HIV/AIDS education and prevention; and provide support for those affected by the epidemic.

With the theme of “Refocusing on a Vision for a Better Health Future,” the goal of AIDS Walk Caribbean® 2005 is to bring together people from various walks of life, many with personal connections to HIV/AIDS. Participants walk to remember loved ones who have died; to help friends, family members and persons who are living with HIV/AIDS celebrate their survival and reaffirm their own lives. What these participants have in common is that they are coming together to remind everyone that in 2005, the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to have an enormous effect on the lives of many and to their support by walking and raising money for people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Join the Post Walk Celebration “After Walk Family Health Day Picnic at Wingate Park”. Bring your tents, blankets and lunch baskets! Participate and learn more about various organizations/companies in your community and what services they provide that benefits you and your family, free services for example health insurance (for immigrants and non immigrants), HIV medication, HIV counseling and testing, free health screening and gifts.

AIDS Walk Caribbean® is supported by a devoted group of corporations and individual led by Ann Blue Convention Center, DV Secret of Nature, Latigidem, McDonald, Newdawn Consultant and Propel. The Founder of CPIC and AIDS Walk Caribbean®, Dawn Stewart is very optimistic that this year’s event will be a success

So far this year, CPIC has responsed to the alarming rates of HIV amongst young women in the Caribbean and the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on children left orphaned by conducting a training in March, 2005 in Guyana.. The importance of gender, ethnic pride, HIV/AIDS education, coping skills, assertive and non assertive behavior amongst women dominated discussion at the SISTA project, held in Cambellville, Guyana from March 29-30, 2005. Conference participants were enlightened, motivated, empowered, shared the importance of being a Caribbean woman while at the same time accepting the challenge to enhance communication with their partners through tasks such as condom negotiation skills. Organized by CPIC in collaboration with Monique’s Helping Hands (Guyanese NGO), the conference focused on the four core elements of the SISTA project.

In addition to HIV/AIDS education, CPIC’s programs include increasing voter registration among eligible Caribbean Americans, particularly in New York, Miami and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area; expanding the Administration’s HIV/AIDS initiative beyond Guyana and Haiti; sensitizing policymakers to the destabilizing effects of U.S. deportees on the Caribbean region.

CPIC Inc is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious and tax-exempt organization registered under Internal Revenue Code, Section 501(c)(3). Founder Dawn C. Stewart has worked tirelessly to assist in health issues amongst Caribbean-Americans. In addition to organizing AIDS Walk Caribbean®, she has organized the Caribbean Days on Capitol Hill Conference and has received several awards for her work in the Caribbean and the USA during the past five years.