Silicon Valley AIDS Leadership Center Records, 1989-2011, bulk Bulk, 1990-1996

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Summary

Abstract:
The Silicon Valley AIDS Leadership Center (SVALC) Records (1989-2011) consist of administrative records, audiotapes, ephemera, financial records, photographs, press clippings, and videotapes. The SVALC, which operated as a nonprofit agency from 1989 to 2011, raised money to benefit bay area AIDS resource centers through an annual "10k Walk for AIDS" event and other fundraisers. As a result of the economic recession and external difficulties securing corporate sponsors, The organization disbanded in early 2011.
Extent:
6.0 linear feet(approx) 7 boxes, 1 flat file drawer and 1 framed poster.
Language:
Preferred citation:

Silicon Valley AIDS Leadership Center Records, MSS-2011-10-10, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The Silicon Valley AIDS Leadership Center (SVALC) Records (1989-2011) consist of administrative records, audiotapes, ephemera, financial records, photographs, press clippings, and videotapes. The SVALC, which operated as a nonprofit agency from 1989 to 2011, raised money to benefit bay area AIDS resource centers through an annual "10k Walk for AIDS" event and other fundraisers. As a result of the economic recession and external difficulties securing corporate sponsors, The organization disbanded in early 2011.

Biographical / historical:

The Silicon Valley AIDS Leadership Center (SVALC) was founded in 1989 as a beneficial agency to support Bay Area AIDS and HIV-positive patients. SVALC was widely known for organizing the Walk for AIDS and Unmask the Mysteries fundraisers, which raised funds to benefit AIDS resource centers in the region. Major corporate sponsors included San Jose software company Xilinx. For tax exemption purposes, SVALC formed a separate organization called the Santa Clara County AIDS Coalition, later renamed AIDS Coalition Silicon Valley (ACSV), in 1999 to organize the Walk for AIDS and Unmask the Mysteries events.

The Walk for AIDS event took place in downtown San Jose from 1989 to 2009. Sponsored participants walked a trail loop in Guadalupe Park that began and ended at Discovery Meadow. The event attracted a diverse range of participants and volunteers from various age groups and ethnic communities. At the peak of the Walk's success in the 1990s, singer and activist Joan Baez made appearances at Walk events. She was promoted by her cousin Peter Baez, a local activist. A small event called the Warm up Walk for AIDS was also held at amusement park Paramount's Great America in Santa Clara. The AIDS Resources, Information and Services (ARIS) organization, the Bill Wilson Centre for Living with Dying, and other beneficiaries of the Walk fundraising reached over 30,000 people annually with AIDS education and information.

ACSV also organized a masquerade gala known as Unmask the Mysteries, which ran annually from 2005 to 2008. One of the fundraising highlights was a silent auction for donors to purchase carnival masks that had been decorated by celebrities and local artists. Unmask the Mysteries was held at the Triton Museum in Santa Clara until 2007, and in 2008 it moved to the Rotary Summit Center in downtown San Jose.

SVALC fell on hard times in the 2000s. Several sponsors, including ARIS, withdrew their support when director James P. Reber was accused of discriminating against participating nonprofits and distributing funds unequally. He was eventually replaced by Pat Duffy, who led the Center from 1999 to 2009. Unable to afford another year of Unmask the Mysteries, the ACSV attempted one more fundraiser, Taste of Silicon Valley in 2010. While successful, it did not generate enough money for the organization to continue, moreover, after losing corporate sponsorship in the wake of the recession, the organization could no longer afford to stay open and disbanded in 2011.

Processing information:

Processed by: Mary Alexander. Reviewed by: Danelle Moon. Date completed: 2011. Archist Toolkit generated EAD. Date encoded: 2011

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Access to financial and youth volunteer records in Series I is restricted and may only be obtained with the explicit permission of the Director of Special Collections at San Jose State University.

Terms of access:

Copyright has been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the SJSU Special Collections & Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

Preferred citation:

Silicon Valley AIDS Leadership Center Records, MSS-2011-10-10, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.

Location of this collection:
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0028, US
Contact:
408-808-2062
special.collections@sjsu.edu
Website