They came because they've lost loved ones to AIDS, they came because they, themselves, are HIV-positive, and they came just because they care.
Nearly 30,000 signed up for in the 11th annual AIDS Walk Chicago Sunday, Sept. 24, but just under 10,000 reportedly braved the chilly temperatures and a brisk wind to cruise along the lake for their cause.
"I wish you could see all of your beautiful faces," said opening ceremony emcee Allison Rosati of NBC-TV ( Channel 5 ) to walkers waiting on a muddy field in front of her.
During this year's opening, local notables, including state Rep. Larry McKeon, unveiled the "Chicago Quilt," several quilt panels signed with emotional messages by last year's walkers.
This year's roughly three-mile route, shortened from last year to make room for all of the walkers, took participants from the Museum Campus to just north of the Chicago Yacht Club and back.
As usual, the walk drew in diverse groups from around the city and suburbs, all united for the common goal of raising money for the 100,000 people with HIV and AIDS served each year by the walk's 16 benefiting agencies.
"I'm a person with AIDS, and I provide services to people with HIVthat's primarily why I'm here," said John Dinauer, clinical administrator at Heartland Alliance, a benefiting agency. "And it ( the walk ) helps me accept myself as a person with AIDS. It's been amazing."
For siblings Connie Carnegie and Tom Mrowinski, who lost their brother Billy to AIDS in 1993, the reason to walk also hit close to home.
"I hope they find a cure," said Mrowinski, who served as a walking tribute to his brother. Clad in a T-shirt reading "In Loving Memory of My Brother Billy 1953-1993," he stoically carried a framed photo. "We miss him."
"I thought he'd be here with us," Carnegie said.
For the 55 students from the New Trier High School AIDS Coalition, Sunday's walk was "just a good cause," said sophomore Emily Robinson, whose mother works with people with AIDS.
Other participating groups included area congregations, corporate teams and teams representing local high schools and colleges.
A spirited team of Gap employees raised the top amount of cash this year, bringing in $30,000 in pledges that will be matched by the Gap corporation.
Since its founding in 1989, AIDS Walk Chicago has averaged about $1 million a year to raise more than $11 million total for service providers such as Better Existence with HIV ( BEHIV ) , Horizons Community Services and Howard Brown Health Center. This year's goal is to bring in $1.9 million for HIV tests and counseling, meals, therapies for children, housing and mental health services.