Lavender Committee Member Raises AIDS Funding with Help from Local 1000
SEIU Local 1000 member and DMV worker Frank Boslet recently participated in the AIDS Life Cycle under a sponsorship from SEIU Local 1000. This week-long event takes riders from San Francisco to Los Angeles by bicycle, traveling across the state as they raise money and awareness for this critical public health issue.
“I’ve wanted to do the AIDS Life Cycle for ten years. The stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS has impacted people in my life, and educating myself on the issue enlightened me, and I want to share that with others,” he said. “The Union offer to fund my ride made me able to participate, and it was the most phenomenal event. People say it’s a life-changing experience, and it really is.”
He got involved in the Lavender Committee activities last year after 10 years of working at DMV. After he decided to participate in the ride, a $2500 donation from our Union led by the Lavender Committee, sponsored him to participate. What drew him to the committee was an opportunity to see his job participate in a community he cares about.
“On day three, after riding 100 miles, we were stuck in Bishop due to a hailstorm, huddled in a shack wrapped in tin foil. In spite of how remote it was, they let us warm up and get ready to get back on the road.”
In spite of the difficulties, he plans to join the 545mile-long ride again next year.
“There is a single school in Bishop that was coordinating a fundraiser with the AIDS Life Cycle organizers, which gave us an opportunity to give back to this community. They raised $60,000 from cyclists participating in the ride, which all goes to support sports and arts programs at the school.”
“We climbed a mountain on Red Dress Day, where the road forms a curve in the shape of the AIDS ribbon. This was the shortest day, but because we are all in bright red, it’s a great symbol of all of us fighting to support.”
“We got to meet people from around the world and across California, union members from up and down the state, and even a state senator from New York. It’s so good to see this global support for an event that our Union was able to participate in and to be able to talk about the work SEIU Local 1000 does for its members.”
He raised $4,078 for the cause, and his team, New Bear Republic, raised $450,576 overall. His team was a close second of all teams participating, with a total of over $11 million raised for pre- and post-exposure prophylactic and education services for communities across California.