36 years later, Francine Goldstein nears $1M in fundraising for AIDS Walk

Francine Goldstein clearly remembers the day she received a phone call from her best friend from the hospital.

“It was AIDS,” Goldstein said. “She called me and she said, ‘I understand if you never want to see me again.’ I said, ‘I’m your best friend, we’re gonna do everything we can to help you.’”

36 years later, Goldstein and her partners have raised a sum total of nearly $1,000,000 for AIDS relief, a milestone she expects to reach within the coming weeks. She is only about $2,000 away from reaching the seven-figure goal.

In 1988, Goldstein’s friend was showing symptoms of illness at the end of her pregnancy, thought to be pneumonia — but after the birth of her daughter, the illness was identified as acquired autoimmune deficiency disorder, also known as AIDS.

Goldstein participated in her first AIDS walk that year. She raised $150, in one donation from her husband and her two dogs. In the following years, she expanded her outreach by contacting  friends, family and clients to support the cause, many of whom still donate today.

One of those individuals is Kelsey Louie, former CEO of Gay Men’s Health Crisis, who Goldstein referred to as a mentor who played a significant role in her journey.

“He’s wonderful,” Goldstein said.

“She is very kind to call me a mentor,” Louie said, “but she has taught me as much as I have taught her. She is an inspiration to so many, including myself. Every cause needs a champion like Francine, and everyone needs a friend like Francine.”

The goal of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis is to provide AIDS patients treatment and public support. Goldstein and her husband have been members of GMHC since 1981.

“We provide our clients with housing, food and nutrition, legal services, immigration, mental health, substance abuse,” Susan Devaney, the vice president of development for GMHC said.

“Our mission is to end AIDS,” Devaney added, “but infections happen every day. We want to get more education, more prevention, more testing — that’s our biggest focus.”

Goldstein explained that many people fear being diagnosed or sharing that they have HIV. The goal of the event is to combat the negative stigma towards AIDS patients and the idea that the disease is a problem of the past.

“When I first took my job just two years ago, some people said to me, is that still a thing?” Devaney recounted. “Yes, it’s still a thing. We’re still here fighting.”

AIDS walks are an important time for surviving relatives of lost loved ones to honor their memories and support research towards a cure for the disease.

“Francine believes in our mission and she understands what it is that we’re trying to do when we’re providing all of these services and programs,” Devaney said, “and she fights every day for every dollar that she brings in — she knows that it’s going somewhere.”

Even after reaching a monumental figure, Goldstein has shown no sign of stopping her activism. “I will walk until there is a cure,” she said.

Goldstein has been a Bellmore resident for the past 17 years, and she was the Long Island Herald’s Person of the Year in 2018. At the time, she had raised over $640,000.

The next AIDS walk will take place May 19 in Central Park, New York City.  Annually, the walk typically has anywhere from 10,000 to 12,000 registered walkers, many appearing in fundraising teams. “Francine’s Team – A Promise to a Friend” has already raised $68,345 in 2024. If you want to donate as a part of Francine’s team, visit AIDSWalkNY.org.