Thirty-five people participated in the 5K run to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS on Saturday, April 25 at the University Center Central Plaza on WCU’s campus.
The Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad and Lambda Phi Chi hosted the 5K run for HIV and AIDS, alongside their partnerships.
The race raised a total of $500 from donations. The funds raised from the race will go to the Latino Commission on AIDS. This organization had an informational booth for participants to learn valuable information about PrEP and to help make care packages.
The Lambda Phi Chi sorority’s main goals for the run were to educate participants, promote testing, access to care, prevention and to reduce stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS.
The sorority created the Latinas Educating on AIDS Awareness and Prevention project in 2000 to help the sorority’s hermanas spread awareness and information about AIDS in their communities.
Lambda Phi Chi is a relatively new sorority at WCU, having been founded in 2020. Through this 5K run, they hope to not only help their sorority make their mark on campus but also to start the trend of acceptance and support for those living with HIV or AIDS.
“I feel like in college people are shy to talk about HIV and the stigmas that come with it, so it’s important to educate our classmates on this,” said Lily Vasquez, chapter president for the Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad.
The organization partnered with the Western North Carolina AIDS Project to bring awareness to HIV and AIDS. The WNCAP’s mission is to “provide equitable access to care and reduce harm from HIV, Hepatitis C and drug use.”
Volunteers and Lambda Phi Chi hermanas worked to make care packages during the event to donate to the WNCAP. Inside these care packages were items like deodorant, toothbrushes, soap bars and handwritten notes from the hermanas.
Volunteer, Audrey Barth, helped to make the care packages for the WNCAP.
“It was interesting to see what was being donated to people with AIDS and it was nice to help those in need,” said Barth.
AIDS, or an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, occurs at the most progressed stage of the disease. HIV, human immunodeficiency virus, makes it difficult for the body to fight off infection by weakening the immune system. If left untreated HIV can lead to AIDS.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the first reported case of AIDS in North Carolina was in 1982. The first case of HIV reported was in 1990. As of the end of 2024, there have been 38,614 individuals diagnosed with HIV in North Carolina.
The most common way an individual can be infected with HIV is through unprotected vaginal or anal sexual contact with someone who is infected with HIV. Other methods of infection that are less common are through sharing drug-injection equipment or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding.
According to the NCDHHS, there was a 37% increase in people newly diagnosed with HIV in North Carolina in 2024. With the ratio of newly diagnosed Hispanic individuals increasing to 30 per 100,000.
After over 40 years we still have not found a cure for these diseases. It can be treated with antiretroviral drugs, which helps stop the virus from replicating and the immune system to get strong.
The stigmas surrounding HIV and AIDS often affect the health and wellbeing of individuals living with the diseases.
Some stigmas surrounding these individuals include believing certain groups of people contract HIV, health care professionals denying treatment and referring to people living with HIV and AIDS as “dirty”.
ViiV Healthcare conducted a survey in 2022, The Positive Perspectives Survey Report, and found that 82% of people living with HIV and AIDS had experienced discrimination or a form of stigma within the past year.
The Lambda Phi Chi sorority’s 5K run helped show support and awareness for those in the Western community living with HIV and AIDS with the hopes of not only helping them physically but mentally as well.
“WNCAP has graciously offered to bring free HIV testing kits, and so we just wanted to make healthcare for those with AIDS more accessible to the western community,” said Leana Barra, community service chair for Lambda Phi Chi.
In an area where things like mental health or diseases are known to not be spoken about because of stigmas or fear of discrimination, WCU’s sorority Lambda Phi Chi is speaking out for those who feel their voices have not been heard.
