- LOS ANGELES -- More than 30,000 people participated in Sunday's 25th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles to benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles and other Los Angeles-area AIDS service organizations.
Tony Award winner John Lloyd Young, of "Jersey Boys", sang the traditional starting song, "When You Walk Through a Storm", as participants started off on the 6.2 mile walk. Among the celebrities who took part in the walk were Felicity Huffman of "Desperate Housewives," Aaron Carter of "Dancing with the Stars," Mary Louise Parker of "Weeds," Darryl Stephens of "Noah's Arc," George Takei of "Star Trek" and John Lloyd Young of the original Broadway production of "Jersey Boys."
The opening ceremony began at 9:15 a.m. and the walk started at 10 a.m. at West Hollywood Park.
The route took walkers south on La Cienega Boulevard, east on Melrose Avenue, south on La Brea Avenue and West on Beverly Boulevard, heading north on San Vicente Boulevard to return to the park.
A post-walk reception, hosted by actress Teri Hatcher, included San Francisco Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land in attendance.
KNX 1070's Bill Cooper reported that today's AIDS Walk LA walkers raised more than $3 million. Since 1985, the event has raised more than $63 million for HIV programs and services throughout Los Angeles County, and has grown into one of the largest AIDS fundraising events in the country.