AHF’s “Condom Nation” Tour Returns to Dallas/Ft. Worth for 97.9’s “HIP HOP for HIV” Concert

In News by AHF

AIDS group’s 70-foot, 18-wheel ‘Condom Nation’ big rig and companion Sprinter van continue national free condom giveaway tour with stops in Dallas/Ft. Worth with partner agencies AIDS Outreach Center and AIDS Arms providing free HIV testing at events on Friday & Saturday, August 10th & 11th, and a stop at the Radio One 97.9 The Beat’s “HIP HOP for HIV” Concert at Ft. Worth Convention Center

 

Condom Nation will also participate in an open house event marking the opening of AHF Magic Johnson Healthcare Center, a new HIV/AIDS treatment center, in Ft. Worth on Monday, August 13th

 

WHAT:  MEDIA AVAILABILITY—Free condom giveaway. AHF’s ‘Condom Nation’ 18-wheel semi truck continues six-month, 40-city, 25-state free condom tour; advocates to hand out free condoms.  Group will also offer free HIV testing on Friday & Saturday, August 10th & 11th

WHEN/WHERE: 

FRIDAY, August 10th – 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm   

Big T Plaza, 4515 Village Fair Dr., Dallas 

Partner agency providing HIV testing: AIDS Arms

SATURDAY, August 11th – 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Sub-Court House, 3500 Miller Ave., Ft. Worth

Partner agency providing HIV testing: AIDS Outreach Center

SUNDAY, August 12th – 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm

HIP HOP for HIV concert

Ft. Worth Convention Center, 1201 Houston St., Ft. Worth

MONDAY, August 13th – 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Opening of the AHF Magic Johnson Healthcare Center

400 N. Beach St., Ft. Worth

WHO:  James Vellequette, Assoc. Director, Condom Nation Tour, AIDS Healthcare Foundation; John Reed, AIDS Outreach Center (Ft. Worth); Ed Jones, AIDS Arms (Dallas)

B-ROLL:  70-foot, 18-wheel ‘Condom Nation’ big-rig with condoms and safer sex education materials

CONTACTS:  James Vellequette, AHF Assoc. Dir., Condom Nation Tour, (323) 573-3005 cell (ON THE ROAD); Lori Yeghiayan Friedman, AHF Communications, (323) 377-4312 cell (LOS ANGELES)

DALLAS/FT. WORTH, TX (August 9, 2012) AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s (AHF) ‘Condom-Nation’ tour—AHF’s specially-designed 70-foot long, 18 wheel ‘Condom Nation’ big rig truck and a companion ‘Condom Nation’ Sprinter van returns to Dallas/Ft. Worth for free condom giveaway events and free HIV testing events on Friday & Saturday, August 10th and 11th and special appearances at Radio One 97.9 The Beat’s “HIP HOP for HIV” concert Sunday, August 12th and at the opening of the AHF Magic Johnson Healthcare Center on Monday, August 13th—all stops on the ‘Condom Nation Tour’–a groundbreaking nationwide tour to select cities, towns and states to hand out ten million free condoms and provide safer sex information in conjunction with local partners.  ‘Condom Nation’ was launched from the famed Boardwalk in Venice Beach, California as part of AHF’s worldwide observation of International Condom Day—an informal holiday observed annually on February 13th in conjunction with Valentine’s Day.

AHF’s Condom Nation tour will host a free condom giveaway and free HIV testing event on Friday, August 10th from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Big T Plaza (4515 Village Fair Dr., Dallas) where partner agency AIDS Arms will be offering free HIV testing.  On Saturday, August 11th, the tour will host another condom and testing event, in partnership with AIDS Outreach Center, at Sub-Court House (3500 Miller Ave., Ft. Worth) from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. There will be HIP HOP for HIV ticket giveaway promotions, given in conjunction with 97.9 THE BEAT on both days. 97.9 THE BEAT will be broadcasting live from the events on both days.

As co-sponsors, AIDS Healthcare Foundation and Condom Nation—along with AIDS Outreach Center, Cities of Fort Worth and Dallas, Dallas Community College District, AIDS Arms, Condom Nation, Dallas County Health and Human Services Department, Greater than AIDS, the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Clinic and Radio One 97.9 THE BEAT—are proud to present the 5th Annual “HIP HOP for HIV” concert on August 12, 2012 from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.  The Condom Nation big rig will be on hand to give out free condoms to concert attendees.

Finally, on Monday, August 13th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Condom Nation will help commemorate the opening of the AHF Magic Johnson Healthcare Center, a new, state-of-the-arts HIV/AIDS treatment site, located at 400 N. Beach St. in Ft. Worth.  The big rig will be at the open house event to give out free condoms and safer sex information.

The Condom Nation tour stopped in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area this past May to host a free condom giveaway and HIV testing events, as well as to participate in the 8th Annual Monster Energy – Dub Car Show Tour 2012 at the Dallas Convention Center.

“Condom Nation is a serious, yet somewhat whimsical and creative effort by AIDS Healthcare Foundation to help promote increased condom use and to help make condoms more accessible and affordable,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “Condoms are an essential part of preventing HIV and STDs. Not only are they extremely effective at preventing transmission, they are cheaper and easier to use than many other prevention tools. Our hope is that Condom Nation raises awareness and sparks conversations along the way—both on the coasts and in the heartland—about the importance of condoms and the crucial role they play in disease prevention and safer sex.”

Currently, there are approximately 48,000 new HIV infections and 19 million new STD infections every year in the United States.

Unfortunately, few people have reliable and affordable access to condoms. Recent studies show that when condoms are available and reasonably priced or at no cost, more people use them as a protective measure against STDs, HIV and unwanted pregnancies. In addition, the average $1 retail price per condom is offset by a production cost of only $.04, leaving $.96 for profit. Retail priced condoms are simply too expensive for many people to afford and locations providing free condoms are often geographically distant from those who need them.

“In order to better protect the public health, we need universal access to condoms and they need to be available at an extremely low cost,” said James Vellequette, Associate Director for AHF’s ‘Condom Nation.’  “This tour is a national call to action to achieve these goals and we are excited to be working with our community partners in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area that have come together for these events.”

‘Condom Nation’ will:

  • Partner with 40+ local advocates in 25 states to distribute ten million free condoms
  • Educate and raise awareness about safe sex practices
  • Promote the use of condoms through education and advertising
  • Spearhead a national advocacy campaign to lower the price of condoms

Condom Nation Cities

Some of the cities the Condom Nation Tour have visited include Venice, CA (2/13/12 tour launch); Oakland, CA (Feb 17); Las Vegas, NV (Feb 21-25); Phoenix, AZ (Mar 1-2); Albuquerque, NM (Mar 7th); Oklahoma City (Mar 9-11) Ft. Worth, TX (Mar 13-14) Dallas, TX (Mar 15-16); San Antonio, TX (Mar 17-22) Houston, TX (Mar 22-24); Lafayette, LA (Mar 27) Baton Rouge, LA (Mar 28-31); Jackson, MS (April 13-14); Atlanta, GA (April 18-22); Norfolk, VA, (April 23-28); Columbia, SC (May 4-5); Little Rock, AK (May 12); Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas (May 18-20); Kansas City, MO (May 24); Kansas City, KS (May 24); Chicago, IL (May 26-27); Detroit, MI (May 29); Jersey City, NJ (June 1st); Asbury Park, NJ (June 3rd); Providence, Rhode Island (June 6-7); Brooklyn, NY (June 9); New York City, NY (June 17); Detroit, Michigan (June 23); Columbus, Ohio (June 27) Indianapolis, Indiana (June 29); Nashville, TN (July 6); Charlotte, NC (July 11); Washington, DC for the XIX International AIDS Conference (July 22-27); Dallas/Ft. Worth (Aug 10-13).

According to a December 2011 HIV/AIDS Policy Fact Sheet produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the CDC reports that there are approximately 1.1 million people currently living with HIV/AIDS in the United States; an estimated 20% of these individuals do not even know they are infected. In addition, a new news posting published on February 15, 2012 on the website www.aidsmap.com reports that as many of half of all, “…new HIV transmissions in the US originate in individuals who are unaware that they are HIV-positive, a modelling study published in the online edition of AIDS estimates. Only 20% of HIV infections in the US are undiagnosed, but the investigators calculated that they were the source of 49% of all new onward transmissions

To learn more about Condom Nation and find resources to help your community, please visit

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AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to more than 176,000 individuals in 26 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare or @condomnation and as ‘CondomNation on Instagram for on the fly photos of the tour.

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