Walking for a Cause — With Monkeys!

Liam’s AIDS Walk story began with one of his favorite animals: monkeys.

When Liam’s mother, Amy, noticed Mark and Brett pulling a wagon full of stuffed monkeys during her first year walking in AIDS Walk San Francisco, she knew this charismatic pair would be the perfect segue to introducing her son to the cause and the event.

“I had to say hello and ask what their team name was. I’ve always wanted to get my son involved with the AIDS Walk,” Amy tells us, excited to walk again with team Monkeys for the Cure in 2013.

Monkeys for the Cure has been a successful team since 2006, raising close to $2,000 last year despite their limited size. The team asks donors to sponsor a monkey, which then carries a tag with the sponsor’s name as they are paraded along the AIDS Walk route. Donors pledging $100 or more even receive their own custom-made sock monkey.

Social media is essential for Amy and Liam’s efforts. By making regular updates on her Facebook page, Amy makes it easy for her friends to track their progress during the event itself: “I also try to upload photos as our walk progresses so people really feel part of what we are doing, no matter where they live.”

Liam’s favorite part of the Walk is meeting new people and, of course, walking with the fashionably dressed monkeys in tow.

“[I walk in] honor of my Uncle James who passed away of AIDS nine years before I was born,” he says. “I wish I could have met him, but this way I feel close to him.”

Liam always leaves his mark on the Memorial Wall to honor his uncle and keep his memory alive.
 
Find out more about Amy and Liam here.