Walking Against The Grain

July is officially over which means that I am 1/3 of the way through my fundraiser. Overall it was a great first month!

— We had the Walking Against The Grain kick off party, which was beyond successful. Thank you again to all those that came and donated.  

— We were able to get a grand total of 87 people to like the Walking Against The Grain Facebook page. EIGHTY-SEVEN! Like I’ve said from the beginning, one “Like” at a time.

— We headed down to San Diego and were able to get the lovely ladies of UC San Diego CHI OMEGA to join the movement!

— Lastly, since I created this blog it was really more of a way for me to remember the process and the struggle that I knew this journey would be. Since my first post on July 1st I’ve gotten 512 hits. That means on average 16 people are viewing my page daily!! 

During the month of July Walking Against The Grain has raised a total of $450! From $0 to $450 thats pretty significant if you ask me! I am beyond grateful to those who have taken the time and the generosity to support what I’m doing. Even if all I raise is $450 at least that’s $450 that the AIDS WALK did not have before and we can call say we were apart of that. Right?!

But if you think I’m going to stop here, you are sadly mistaken! $450 is wonderful but I set out to raise $1500 and I will continue to fundraise until the day of the Walk on October 16th. 

I’m excited to see what August has in store. This month I’m focusing on getting my co-workers and my bosses involved. I also have something every fun up my sleeve that could potentially be awesome for Walking Against The Grain! I plan on announcing what that is by the end of the week. So please continue to show support by visiting the blog, getting others to like the Facebook page and by donating.

Thanks again everyone!

Walking Against The Grain is only $1 dollar shy of being at the $400 mark! Who wants to be the special person to get us to $400????!!!!

ITS ONLY A DOLLAR FOLKS! 

Donate here!!! 

And just like that Walking Against The Grain adds another Sponsor to the list!!!!!

ARLENE NIETO! 

I can’t say thank you enough!

In case you want to donate $1, $5, maybe even $20!!, here’s how:

1. Click here: http://www.aidswalk.net/losangeles/

2. Click on ‘SPONSOR A WALKER’

3. Type in my name: Cristina Rodriguez then click Search

My name should pop up along with the team name ‘Walking Against The Grain’

4. Click on my name

5. THEN DONATE!!

Any questions or difficulties please feel free to email me at ccristinaaaa@gmail.com

Even I want to see if this can actually happen! SEVEN DAYS FOLKS!

San Diego last weekend was amazing!

While I was down there I challenged you all to get one person from San Diego to “Like” the Facebook page. The incentive was that I would personally match a dollar for every person that joined the page. And in 2 1/2 days we got TWENTY-SIX “Likes”!!!

Lets put that into perspective for a second. I mentioned before that my weekly mission is to get 24 people to like the page. The fact that we were able to get 26 people in 2 1/2 days is mind blowing!

Thank you SAN DIEGO! And a big thank you to the ladies of UCSD CHI OMEGA for taking the time to join the movement! You ladies are amazing!! 

While we were their we raised a total of $46.

So far Walking Against The Grain has raised a total of $320.

I’m only $180 away from raising the $500 I set out to collect in July. I have exactly one week to try and reach my monthly goal.

Will I get it done???

We’ve been in San Diego for a day and a half. Before we left LA I initiated a challenge to all the Walking Against The Grain supports. For every friend, who is living in or from San Diego, that you get to “LIKE” the Facebook Page I will personally match a dollar. 

So how many from San Diego have “LIKED” the page since we’ve been here??

TWENTY!

We’re here until Sunday. Help me get those “LIKES”!!!

**EDIT**

Today officially marks the end of Week 2 for Walking Against The Grain.

So where are we now??

During week 1 I got 24 people to like the Facebook page I created. So therefore, 24 is the lucky number everyone. Every week I’m trying to get at least 24 people to like the page. How many did we get during week 2?? THIRTY-THREE! Making a grand total of 57 likes in 2 weeks! 

Progress. Progress! PROGRESS!

I know we’re all curious about how the fundraising is going and we are right on schedule. $1500 is definitely a goal I have to put time and energy to acquire. I’ve broken it down on a much smaller scale. Every month I’m trying to raise $500. So how much do we have raised? $254!! I have another $250 to raise within in the next 2 weeks. 

ohhh let do it!

Some of you might be thinking to yourselves that what we have right now is so insignificant, you might even be thinking to yourselves “I don’t think she’s going to raise the $1500.” To all you sceptics out there I’m here to tell you, doubt all you want about me reaching my goal. But trust me when I say I’m going to make a believer out of you. All I ask is that you be patient. 

Whats on the agenda for Walking Against The Grain?

We’re headed to SAN DIEGO! This weekend is San Diego Pride and we have been invited to attend the “Wicked” after-party at EDEN hosted by Lead the Way SD. Exciting right?? 

Lastly, I personally challenge you to get a friend of yours living in San Diego to “Like” the Facebook page. I will personally match a dollar for every “Like” starting now through sunday! So please tell your friends!

Wish us luck in San Diego!

Walking Against The Grain had its kick-off party Friday night. It was a night filled with familiar faces eager to donate and new faces interested in learning more about the movement. 

When I was putting the party together I struggled with the decision to charge a cover to enter the party or just let everyone in. But the whole point of the celebration was just to get people together and get people excited about what I’m doing. Ultimately, I decided no cover charge. I did however set out to raise $50 for the night. It truly wasn’t about the money, it was about hanging out with the people who are supporting me on this journey. 

My pink piggy bank, which now seems to be the mascot for Walking Against The Grain, was definitely not expecting to get as much attention as it did. The generosity Friday night was overwhelming and truly an amazing sight to see. 

My goal was $50. We raised $204!! 

As I went around collecting donations that night the love and support was unlike anything I could have ever dreamed of. People I never met came to the party because they had seen the Facebook page and have been following the blog. Meeting people for the first time that night and hearing them say “I want to walk with you in October” was surprising and I was truly blown away.  

Friday nights celebration was a success on so many levels. I met so many new people, raised well beyond my goal for the evening, informed new people about the movement and got a group of people excited about something that they probably hadn’t thought twice about. Walking Against The Grain is more than just raising $1500 and getting 25 people to walk with me. Its about taking a stand as a group of young people.

Thank you to those who came out Friday night and not only celebrated the start of something amazing, but also were able to witness that contrary to what society expects from young people, like ourselves, we can come together for a common cause and make a difference. 

Thank you all to an amazing night!

So we’re 7 days into Walking Against the Grain and progress is slow.

But there has been progress!

I created a Facebook page for my fundraising and so far TWENTY-FOUR people have “Liked” it!!! Some might say 24 thats it?! But if you really think about it these 24 people didn’t have to click anything. They could have simply seen my message and clicked right out of it. But they didn’t. They actually took the time to read what I had to say and decided to show support by simply “Liking” my page. 

Some might say, what’s the point of a Facebook page anyways? My answer to you is simple. There is power in numbers. And that is the whole point of why i’m doing what I’m doing. A facebook page that says 24 people stand behind one common cause says a lot more than no Facebook page at all. At least that’s how I see it! The exciting part about the whole thing is that I’ve only reached out to my immediate group of friends. Wait until I start spreading the word to everyone else! Exciting right?

What’s on the horizon for Walking Against The Grain?

This Friday I will be hosting a kick-off party to celebrate the start of something great!

Pictures and much more to come!

And lastly, thank you to those who have started following me on my journey!

When I decided to start Walking Against The Grain people told me that I should start a tumblr page for it. I thought that was a great idea. Tumblr would be an easy and efficient way for me to post information more effectively to a large group of people. The page might even reach people I don’t know and sweep the nation! Well not literally, but you get what I mean.

I have so many posts already drafted some having to do with facts about HIV/AIDS, trends, videos, quotes. However, I stopped posting because I felt it was too impersonal. My voice wasn’t in it. So I’ve decided that this tumblr page rather than just be a fact sheet will instead follow my progress, my struggle, and hopefully my success with a few facts and interesting reads along the way. 

Enjoy!

LOS ANGELES-Of the 60,000 people estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS 25% are living with HIV and are undiagnosed.

The AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) put together a fact sheet about trends in HIV Infections and AIDS. The APLA breaks down the statistics for LA County, the State of California, and the United States as a whole.

Here are the stats:

LOS ANGELES COUNTY:

Living AIDS cases as of 2009 - 24,643

Cumulative AIDS deaths - 31,448

Total AIDS cases - 56,091

CALIFORNIA:

Living AIDS cases - 68,399

Cumulative AIDS deaths - 86,399

Cumulative AIDS cases - 155,208

UNITED STATES:

Estimated living AIDS cases - 459,594

Cumulative AIDS deaths - 576,594

Cumulative AIDS cases - 1,073,128

What Is HIV?

Let’s break it down:

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a lot like other viruses, but there is an important difference – over time, your immune system can clear most viruses out of your body. That isn’t the case with HIV – the human immune system can’t seem to get rid of it.

We know that HIV can hide for long periods of time in the cells of your body and that it attacks a key part of your immune system – your T-cells. Your body has to have these cells to fight infections and disease, but HIV invades them, uses them to make more copies of itself, and then destroys them.

Over time, HIV can destroy so many of your T-cells cells that your body can’t fight infections and diseases anymore. When that happens, HIV infection can lead to AIDS.

What Is AIDS?

Let’s break it down:

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the final stage of HIV infection. People at this stage of HIV disease have badly damaged immune systems, which put them at risk for opportunistic infections (OIs).

When I dream, I dream big.

About 2 years ago I was lying on the floor of a friends room just thinking about life. As I stared at the four blue walls I couldn’t help but notice the 50 pairs of sneakers stacked and organized to the T. You had the orange Nike boxes. The black and brown Converse boxes. The black and silver Jordan boxes. The ALDO and Steve Madden white boxes for the fancy shoes. As I laid there looking up I thought to myself: 1. I know for a fact that there’s one pair he doesn’t and won’t ever wear again and 2. Damn some kid out there would really go nuts for a pair. Then I got this itch, I wanted to do a shoe drive.

I told my friend my idea and we started brainstorming other possible drives I could do (I still have that paper hanging on my wall). Days past, I think maybe even a couple of months and the idea of the shoe drive remained just that…an idea. Until one day, I got the itch again. I got the courage to put together something small in writing, created a little facebook event, made a few calls to some of my friends and just like that my shoe drive was under way. In the beginning it was definitely about the numbers, how many shoes can I get? But as the drive went on it became less and less about the numbers and instead it became about raising awareness and getting young people to lend a helping hand, or shoe in this case. No Shoes Left Behind was a two week drive and my goal was to get 50 pairs. I ended up collecting 150 pairs of top quality shoes which totaled to about $7,500 (every shoe I averaged to cost abt $50).

When I dream, I dream big.

I have the itch again. This time I’ve set out to participate in the 2011 Aids Walk Los Angeles. My goal is to get at least 25 people to walk with me in October and to raise $1500. I’ve spent this week really trying to organize how I want the next 3 1/2 months to go. The idea of fundraising, getting sponsors, maintaining peoples interested has become overwhelming. Last night I was looking at my vision board and for a second I thought to myself, “What have I gotten myself into!”

My dream is to get way over 25 people to walk with me and to raise well over $1500. My dream is to get people genuinely interested in the Walk and to take something away from the whole experience. That is my dream. Isn’t that what the definition of dreaming is anyways, to do something you never thought possible? So I went to bed last night feeling overwhelmed and uneasy because of the expectations that I have put on myself. But I woke up this morning and the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was my vision board and I got amped. I KNOW I CAN DO THIS. You know how I know? Because of all the love and support I’ve been getting from those closest to me. These next 3 months are going to fly by and this time I promised myself I would document every moment.

Walking Against The Grain 2011.

This is going to be fun.