Dear First Frost Participant and Friend:

I am so excited for you to join us for the 21st Virtual First Frost Walk!  Normally hosted at Thompson Park Zoo and Conservancy, the First Frost celebrates 20+ years of fundraising to support ACR Health's importnat work in the North Country.

Since 2000, the First Frost Walk has brought in more than $600,000 in funding for extensive youth initiatives and has helped position ACR Health as a state leader in youth education. First Frost proceeds are applied to address community-wide challenges of HIV/AIDS, Addiction, Poverty, and LGBTQ equality.

ACR Health’s HIV/AIDS efforts continue to be a part of New York’s aggressive blueprint to End AIDS and decrease rising Hepatitis infections.  Our highly successful program focus on four aggressive initiatives which include prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and outbreak response. Newly infected HIV/AIDS cases decreased 43% from 2009 to 2018. Despite this decrease, Lewis, St. Lawrence, and Jefferson counties saw deaths from HIV/AIDS in 2018. We continue to be vigilant and  in 2019 we conducted 1,945 HIV tests across the agency.

I am humbled by the knowledge of all the favorable, life-changing consequences the First Frost Walk has brought to Northern New York. I anticipate the day, not too far off now, when we can declare the End of the AIDS Epidemic in New York.

-Wil Murtaugh, Executive Director of ACR Health