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Annual AIDS Awareness Event Encourages People To Dine Out

By Hadas Kuznits

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The 24th annual Dining Out For Life event takes place this Thursday, April 24. Kevin Burns, executive director of ActionAIDS, is encouraging folks to help people living with HIV and AIDS by going out to eat that day.

"It's a very easy event for people to participate in," he says. "You can either pick your favorite restaurant that's a participating restaurant or go to a restaurant you've been dying to try out and the restaurant does the rest."

Burns says there are over 150 participating restaurants in the Delaware Valley, and those restaurants will donate one-third of the food bill for diners. And, he says, there's a Center City food truck component to this year's fundraiser.

"We're having a food truck roundup during the day on the same day, Thursday April 24th, from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., and the trucks will be parked on the 1300 block of Locust Street between 13th and Juniper (Streets)."

Burns says they hope to raise about $250,000 that day.

"Dining out for Life is our biggest fundraiser," he says, "and it's a fundraiser that raises money to support vital services for people living with HIV AIDS."

Services include helping people create a stable living environment so that they can take care of themselves. He also says they make a big push to get tested.

"It's estimated that 25% of people who are HIV positive don't know their status," Burns says. "So we've been working really hard to try to encourage people to get tested and to get into treatment early. It makes all the difference."

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