Most of you know I have been riding my bicycle to raise money for AIDS service organizations and an AIDS vaccine since 1999. Some summers I rode multiple events. I have made some lifelong friendships and met some of the best people in my life from these events. Beth and I even met in 2003 on a ride in Madison, Wisconsin. 

I am not certain that I ever really understood or appreciated what someone who is HIV positive goes through. Imagine having a compromised immune system, needing to take an ungodly amount of expensive medications every day (if you have REALLY good insurance or are independently wealthy), having your blood monitored regularly and medication changes based on those tests. Now with my diagnosis of Aplastic Anemia, I don’t have to imagine these scenarios, I get to live a parallel version.

While I physically can’t ride this year, Beth and I are going to Burlington to support our August family that will ride. Even though I am not riding I would be very thankful if you would consider a donation to this cause, which is near and dear to my heart. Charity Treks also has an anonymous donor that is doubling the first $ 10,000 in donations. Your $10 donation becomes $20, your $25 donation become $50 and your $100 donation becomes $200.

100% of your donation goes to Emory Vaccine Center and UCLA AIDS Institute. Since its inception, Charity Treks has given over $1,750,000 to the beneficiaries in the form of unrestricted funds for seed grants. To date, the seed grants provided by Charity Treks have resulted in millions of dollars towards novel concepts to reach the goal; a world free from AIDS.

I look forward to sharing the news of the event with you when we return from Burlington the week of August 9^th. Thank you ever so much for your consideration and generosity. 

Scott Ferguson, Scruffy OT Bear and Beth Nichols