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 AIDS Memorial Quilt Display Brings Hope and Remembrance FOR HISTORY and PHOTOS - www.aidsquilt.org ALTOONA, PA - In observation of World's AIDS Day on Dec. 1, a portion of the AIDS Memorial Quilt - the world's largest community art project - was featured at the Altoona Heritage Discovery Center on November 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on December 1 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. The Discovery Center is located at 1421 12th Avenue and is open to the public. “The Quilt is a powerful and visual reminder of AIDS and speaks to the world to pay attention,” said Angie Peacetree, a case manager of Home Nursing Agency's AIDS Intervention Project (AIP). Locally, the Quilt was last exhibited in 1994 at the Penn State Altoona Campus. “It gives us a perspective of what has happened as well as what still needs to be done. The Quilt truly puts names and faces with the disease,” said Peacetree. According to AIP volunteer, Teddi Kreitz, 10 panels will be on display with some representing the loved ones of local families and/or friends. “Each panel is three by six and contains six individual sections with each one memorializing a person. These colorful and artistic panels really give you a glimpse of who these individuals were and sends a powerful message,” said Kreitz. To date, more than 42,000 memorial panels - each commemorating the life of someone who has died of complications related to AIDS - have been sewn together by friends and family members. The Quilt is sponsored and displayed by the NAMES Project Foundation, which was founded in 1987. The foundation advocates HIV prevention education programs to help bring an end to AIDS. Through the NAMES network of 46 national chapters and 36 international affiliates, the Quilt is viewed annually by more than two million people at thousands of displays around the world. Two area residents, Michael Logan and Thomas Kovan, donated funds to cover the cost of the Quilt's shipping and handling. Since 1986, Home Nursing Agency's AIDS Intervention Project has been helping people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. AIP staff members, like Peacetree, provide a variety of confidential client services as well as accurate and current HIV/AIDS education to the community. Dedicated AIP volunteers like Darlene Culp and Teddi Kreitz enhance the program through their active involvement in supportive services, educational activities, fundraising and public relations. “Whether it's social, medical or informational, AIP can point you in the right direction and provide you with a great deal of support. For those working at AIP, it's not just a 'job', it's a life's work. They're dedicated to the project,” said Culp. Like the NAMES Project Foundation, AIP promotes prevention of the spread of HIV through many educational programs offered to clients and the community. “We now know this disease is 100 percent preventable. You can stop it, if you choose to stop it,” said Culp. “We are not isolated. AIDS is here in Central Pennsylvania so we must do everything in our power to educate people and to dispel popular myths about this disease,” she said. CONTACT SCOTT MOYER AT (814) 944-2982 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 
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