Features

World AIDS Day Moves Online With Virtual Memorial Quilt Display

Portland, OR. “Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Resilience and Impact” is the theme for World AIDS Day. The annual commemoration is coming up on December 1st, but there will be no big in-person gatherings where supporters unite, as seen above. There will the first-ever nationwide AIDS Memorial Quilt display. Each year, sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt travel to communities throughout the country for in-person displays. In 2020, it’s not possible due to Covid-19. Organizers explain, “While nothing can replace the beauty of seeing the Quilt in-person, our hope is that this first-ever, 50-state AIDS Memorial Quilt virtual exhibition, helps use the power and beauty of the Quilt to help our nation heal and remember during these difficult times.”

Here’s a link to the Oregon Quilt Display. A curated story is provided by each Quilt host, linking to their organization website to learn more about their work in the community. See the full list of displays by state and territory.

Each display is hosted by a Quiltmaker, community organization or business and includes touching narratives that connect each display to the lives memorialized and their work around HIV/AIDS. The exhibition is free to the public through March 31, 2021.

The National AIDS Memorial has worked together with Quilt partners from across the country to create this exhibition which includes digital images from thousands of hand-sewn Quilt panels, each visually telling the story of loved ones lost to AIDS.

Display Hosts: Oregon Quilt Displays • University of Oregon LGBT Education Support Service

Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) is also marking World AIDS Day. Founded in 1988, World AIDS Day was the first-ever global health day. It’s an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV transmission, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness.

From Cascade AIDS Project:

2020 has been a year like no other due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our community has faced increased challenges in housing, mental health, food security, and access to healthcare. CAP has responded by providing emergency housing and rent assistance, telehealth services, food delivery, and virtual support groups.

Check out the video below that gives a great overview of the programs CAP offers and shows how your support of CAP directly impacts people’s lives.

While we have been able to provide much-needed relief to hundreds of Oregonians and Washingtonians throughout the pandemic, the need for these services has not diminished. Rather, there are still so many of our friends and neighbors who need access to compassionate healthcare and critical wraparound services. Because of that, we are asking for your help this World AIDS Day so we can continue providing these services, especially as the nights grow longer and colder and access to safe, dry, and warm housing is imperative. If you feel compelled, please consider making a gift to support these programs.

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.