India’s First Openly Gay Prince to Lead AHF’s LA Pride Parade March June 10th -12th
AIDS Healthcare Foundation patients, staff and volunteers will march
alongside the LGBTQ community at the Los Angeles Pride parade with its
newly updated Pride bus this weekend. The bus will be led by Crown
Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, the first openly gay member of India’s
royal family.
AHF will also offer free HIV testing out of its mobile testing unit
as well as its Out of the Closet Thrift Store in West Hollywood
throughout Pride weekend
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#LAPride2016—AIDS
Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization,
is proud to take part in 2016
LA Pride in West Hollywood the weekend of June 10th. This
year, Crown Prince Manvendra
Singh Gohil, India’s first openly gay prince, will lead AHF clients,
volunteers, staff and members of Impulse
Group during the parade. This weekend’s event will be the Prince’s
first gay pride in the U.S.—he previously opened gay pride in Stockholm
in 2008 and in São Paulo in 2009.
A strong advocate for LGBT rights as well as HIV/AIDS education and
prevention, Prince Manvendra faced outrage when he came out to a country
where “homosexual acts” are punishable
by up to 10 years in prison. He now supports LGBT individuals in India
through his community-based organization, The
Lakshya Trust. Manvendra will continue to work alongside AHF as the
AHF Ambassador in India and Impulse
Group Ambassador.
“AHF is honored to march alongside Prince Manvendra and the LGBTQ
community in its hometown of Los Angeles this weekend,” said Michael
Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “AHF continues
to stand with LGBTQ individuals around the globe in advocating for equal
rights, fighting discrimination and ensuring access to healthcare.”
Manvendra will lead AHF’s newly updated Pride bus (#73) in the parade.
The bus is wrapped with a rainbow of smiling faces, representing the
diversity within the LGBTQ community. The “One Comm(unity), One Love”
slogan communicates the sense of strength and unity among LGBTQ
individuals, especially in the face of the HIV/AIDS virus that
disproportionately affects their community. The parade begins at 11 a.m.
on Sunday and will run westward along Santa Monica Blvd. from Crescent
Heights Blvd. to Robertson Blvd.
Throughout Pride weekend, AHF will offer free HIV tests from its mobile
testing unit located at northeast corner of Santa Monica Blvd and San
Vicente Blvd. Testing will be available:
- Friday, June 10: 6:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.
- Saturday, June 11: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m.
- Sunday, June 12: 5:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.
AHF’s Out of the Closet Thrift Store on Santa Monica Blvd. will also
provide free HIV testing during business hours.
AHF is proud to support the LGBTQ community through its national network
of pharmacies, Out of the Closet Thrift Stores that offer free HIV
testing, and specialized healthcare centers that offer medical care and
treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS. For more information on AHF
Healthcare Center locations, AHF Pharmacy, and Out of the Closet Thrift
Stores, visit www.hivcare.org,
www.AHFpharmacy.org,
and www.outofthecloset.org.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS
organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over
620,000 individuals in 36 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
and Instagram: @aidshealthcare
Contacts
AHF
Ged Kenslea
Senior Director, Communications
+1.323.308.1833
work
+1.323.791.5526 mobile
gedk@aidshealth.org
or
Christopher
Johnson,
Associate Director, Communications
+1.323.960.4846
work
+1.310.880.9913 mobile
Christopher.johnson@aidshealth.org
