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GREENSBORO -- The Triad Health Project held its 20th annual Winter Walk for AIDS Sunday. Around 2,000 people gathered for the three-mile jaunt through Greensboro's downtown area. This year marked not only the 20th event, but also the organization's 25th anniversary and 30 years since the first cases of AIDS in the United States.

Chris Tinsley said he remembers vividly getting a call from his doctor that confirmed he was HIV positive. He said it was a harsh reality, but he turned to the Triad Health Project for support.

"It helped me out a lot, especially when I first found out I was positive because they give you the information that you need, they're there with you, they talk you through it," he said.

Addison Ore is the executive director of the organization and said prevention will be the only way to get a handle on the epidemic, but it's something that people need to be aware of and get tested for to cut down on the cases.

"This disease thrives in secrecy and shame and fear and so a day like today when people are walking in the bright sunshine and saying we care about people with HIV/AIDS, it makes an enormous impact," said Ore.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, around 50,000 people in the United States are newly infected with HIV each year. The highest number of cases continue to be seen in adults ages 20 to 24, and health leaders said cases are up in North Carolina and across the southeast.

Ore said it's walks like these that can increase the information that is spread, and hopefully make strides toward a cure.

"I hope that we won't be here, that won't happen in my lifetime but you know, you'll see a lot of kids walking today and I hope in their lifetime we won't need this walk," said Ore.

All of the funding support from the Sunday event will go to support the organization's direct client services and prevention education programs.