Victor Mooney with FIFA 2010 World Cup soccer ball and his gear.

“On Sunday we will list one of the four 2010 World Cup Soccer Balls that the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) gave us on Ebay”, said Victor Mooney, executive director of Queens, New York based - South African Arts International (SAAI).

Funds raised will be used for the ocean rowboat Mooney will use for a five-thousand mile transatlantic row for Aids awareness and prevention from Las Palmas Canary Islands to New York. The highest bidder will receive the soccer ball and four lunch certificates to any Planet Hollywood restaurant in the world.

The campaign will conclude on December 1, World AIDS Day at 2:00pm inside Planet Hollywood – New York City. Opening bid is set at US $10,000.00.

Mooney will carry the other soccer balls in his rowboat for the journey.

After arriving at New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, Mooney will pass the balls back to FIFA for their “Football for Hope” program. "We congratulate you for your commitment to the fight against HIV/Aids as well as for your courageous sporting challenge", said Federico Addiechi, head of Corporate Social Responsibility for FIFA.

This will be the rowers fourth attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

WHERE & WHEN Recap: Planet Hollywood - New York City on December 1, 2011 @ 2pm

MORE INFO: Feature on Forrest Hills Man Seeks To Raise #10,000 for HIV Research

The words ‘quit,’ ‘stop’ and ‘give up’ are simply not in Victor J. Mooney’s vocabulary.

A Brooklyn native and Forest Hills resident, Mooney, 46, has encountered many obstacles through the years in his quest to raise awareness for HIV testing—a cause very close to his heart—particularly in the way of finding sponsors for his non-stop rowing expeditions across the tricky waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

“I’ve gotten rejection letters from Nike, from every big sponsor you could think of,” he said in an interview with The Forum on Tuesday. “And when sometimes, it feels like it’s not going to happen, someone comes through with a piece of equipment. It shows you that you can’t stop, you can’t give up, you’ve got to keep moving to make something happen.”

Since 2006, Mooney has been attempting to raise awareness for HIV and AIDS through what he calls the Goree Challenge, a 5,000 mile-plus rowing voyage across the Atlantic Ocean that starts in the Canary Islands—off the coast of Spain—and ends at New York’s Brooklyn Bridge.

To contact Mooney, visit www.goreechallenge.com