November 26, 2001

AIDS Memorial Quilt on Local Display

BINGHAMTON, NY - Two panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be on display at the Broome County Public Library from November 27 through December 7. The panels are being displayed in commemoration of World AIDS Day, held annually on December 1st.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a tribute to people who have died of AIDS, and is the largest ongoing community arts project in the world. The panels in the Quilt have been made in memory of sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins, loved ones, co-workers, classmates, and friends. Each individual panel measures 3 feet by 6 feet, the size of a human grave. As the epidemic claims more lives, the Quilt continues to grow. The Quilt stands for more than the tens of thousands of people whose names are sewn into the fabric. It also stands for the sorrow, anger, love and hope of people who make panels. The NAMES Project receives more than 50 new panels every week. The two panels on display at the library each include 8 individual panels sewn together to make a 12 by 12 foot section.

The NAMES Project and its chapters display sections of the Quilt 1,600 times each year, giving millions of people an opportunity to view them. On at least five occasions, the entire AIDS Quilt has been on display in Washington DC, to remind the country and the federal government that we need to keep working to end AIDS. International NAMES Project Affiliates display portions of their Quilt projects around the world.

The HIV Care Network, a volunteer planning coalition that works to identify and coordinate service needs for people with HIV/AIDS and seeks to raise community awareness, has brought the AIDS Memorial Quilt panels to Binghamton with the assistance of the Syracuse NAMES Project, the Broome County Health Department, and the Broome County Public Library.

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