FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 19, 2003
CONTACT: Carol Anderson
carol.anderson@emich.edu
734.487.4400

AIDS Memorial Quilt to be Displayed at Eastern Michigan, Dec. 1

YPSILANTI - The largest display in Michigan of the AIDS Memorial Quilt will be in Eastern Michigan University’s Convocation Center Monday, Dec. 1. In observance of World AIDS Day, 15 blocks of the quilt will be available for public viewing 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. The Convocation Center is located at 799 N. Hewitt Road, Ypsilanti.

Each 12-foot square block is made up of eight panels bearing the name of at least one AIDS victim. Panels were made and donated by friends, spouses, parents, children or other family members who have lost someone to the disease.
Nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, the quilt is the largest community art project in the world. If all blocks were attached, the quilt would cover eight football fields and weigh an estimated 54 tons.

“This is an opportunity for the EMU community to connect with the community at large and get good health information out on AIDS,” said Beth Davis Cahimba, health education coordinator at EMU’s University Health Services. Cahimba arranged for the quilt to be displayed at EMU.

The NAMES Project Foundation has been the caretaker of the quilt since 1987. It was organized to illustrate the enormity of the AIDS crisis and to reveal something of the lives behind the statistics. For more information on the display, contact Cahimba at 734.487.2226.

Eastern Michigan University is a public, comprehensive metropolitan university that offers programs in the arts, sciences and professions. EMU prepares students with the intellectual skills and practical experiences to succeed in their careers and lives, and to be better citizens.

###