Scotiabank Branch Manager Trevor Lutes – photos 250 News

Prince George, B.C. – The Prince George Civic Centre will be the site of this year’s Positive Living North/Scotiabank Aids Walk for Life on Wednesday starting at noon.

Local media were invited to Scotiabank this morning for a briefing on the annual fundraiser.

2015 AIDS Walk Champion Dr. Pierre Ducharme

“I’ve been a part of this personally for six years and it just seems to get better and better,” said Scotiabank branch manager Trevor Lutes. “We believe in supporting socio and economic causes and this is a very, very important one for the bank.”

PLN executive director Vanessa West added the walk is more than just a fundraiser.

“I have had the honour and privilege of working for Positive Living North for the past eight years and working for and with extraordinary people; our members, who live with HIV/AIDS,” she said.

“It amazes me on a daily basis as to the challenges that they face living with HIV/AIDS and the strength that they have to continue on with their difficult journey.”

This year’s AIDS Walk Champion, Dr. Pierre Ducharme, who works out of the Central Interior Native Health office, said the walk is all about “raising awareness.”

“We are using everything at our disposal to try to bring about change and that’s what this walk is all about,” he said. “We want to bring it to peoples attention and show them how significant it is that we need to keep on testing. We need to find the people who have the illness and treat them.”

According to the latest statistics, Ducharme said there are 226 people currently being treated for HIV in the North, about 70 of those out of his office.

Of those 226 people being treated, he said 91, or 40%, are First Nations people.