San Francisco Giants AIDS Fundraiser Game Rescheduled

The San Francisco Giants have rescheduled their annual AIDS fundraiser baseball game to "avoid a conflict" with the annual Gay Pride parade, the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Delgado, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/1). The Giants' "Until There's a Cure Day," which has been held annually since 1994, was the first AIDS-related community outreach event sponsored by a professional sports team. For every ticket sold, $1 is donated to groups that promote HIV/AIDS awareness or provide services to people with HIV/AIDS. Although the game is usually held in August and attracts many gay fans, the Giants proposed changing the date of this year's event in order to "drum up publicity" for the fundraiser's 10th anniversary. However, gay community leaders said that the conflict between the game and the parade would anger gay Giants fans and force AIDS organizations to make a choice between the parade and the game (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 1/28). The fundraiser game has been moved from June 29 to June 1, when the Giants play the Colorado Rockies, so that fans do "not have to choose between events" and organizations that participate in both events can do so, Giants spokesperson Shana Daum said, according to the Chronicle. She added, "That date was always subject to change. We weren't setting out to cause any conflicts. Hopefully, this is a day that members of the gay community can join us without having to choose." Tom Nolan, executive director of Project Open Hand, which offers home-delivered meals, groceries and nutrition counseling to people living with HIV/AIDS, said, "I don't think they wanted to alienate a very important community in the Bay Area. Now I don't have to choose. I'll go to both" (San Francisco Chronicle, 2/1).