Four area restaurants are joining in a statewide day to fight HIV/AIDS, Thursday, April 25.

They’re participating in Dining Out for Life, benefiting AIDS Project RI, which provides education, prevention and testing programs and a range of services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the state.

More than 30 restaurants across Rhode Island are participating in the event, which is also being observed in many communities across the nation and in Canada.

Donating a portion of dinner proceeds to the cause are Cucina Twist, 2095 Kingstown Road, in South Kingstown; Matunuck Oyster Bar, 629 Succotash Road, in Wakefield; Grille on Main, 50 Main Street, East Greenwich; and Twist, 336 Bald Hill Road, Warwick.

NBC 10 news anchor and reporter Mario Hilario is chairing the Rhode Island event.

AIDS Project RI executive director Thomas Bertrand, MPH, notes that, according to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately one of five people living with HIV in the United States do not even know that they are infected. “Funds raised via Dining Out for Life help AIDS Project RI conduct community-based HIV testing to help people know their status,” he said.

For more information, including the complete list of participating restaurants, visit www.aidsprojectri.org.