This art quilt will be exhibited and auctioned off at The 2011 Red Ribbon Dinner and Great Art Auction. This is a fundraiser to benefit TPQC formerly known as AIDS Project Quad Cities. TPQC/APQC, a 501-3(c) non-profit service organization, providing support to persons living with HIV/AIDS as well as their families. Their mission: To enhance the quality of life in our community by providing advocacy and care for those living with HIV/AIDS with case management services and education for those at risk by offering a variety of prevention and education programs throughout the community to reduce the spread of HIV. TPQC/APQC provides services to more than 260 HIV+ participants and their families in 11 counties in Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa each year. More than 1,000 residents of this area are provided with HIV screening, prevention education, counseling services and advocacy. Every day, participants struggle with issues like poor access to health care, limited or no health care insurance, homelessness, lack of transportation, social isolation and difficulty in navigation of other social service programs and services. Participants range in age from 8 to 72. Government funding does not begin to cover their needs or pay the full cost of delivery of these critical services. The balance is covered by donors at events like the Red Ribbon Dinner. It is my hope that this art quilt will not only raise funds for TPQC/APQC but also raise awareness for the need to support not only individuals whose lives are affected but also the research needed for treatment and prevention.
In 2006 my brother volunteered me to make a quilt for The 2007 Great Art Auction at the Red Ribbon Dinner fundraiser for The Aids Project Quad Cities (now known simply as the Project or TPQC /APQC). I have been creating and donating items to the auction each year since. It seemed like the natural choice for my Craft for a Cause entry to be the art quilt planned for the 2011 auction. AIDS Project Quad Cities is a non-profit Service Organization providing support to persons living with HIV/AIDS as well as their families and friends in Iowa and Illinois. Their mission, to enhance the quality of life and reduce health disparities by providing a full spectrum of services including: advocacy, care, testing, education, counseling, referrals and other health care services for individuals who are living with, affected by, or at risk of contracting HIV/STI/AIDS is honorable. It is a huge undertaking for a small local grassroots program to financially support this undertaking. I am honored to be able to use my talents to help raise funds. Government and private grants do not begin to cover the needs of this organization. This year’s project incorporates a scientific image related to research into the development of an AIDS vaccine that intrigued me. It is printed on fabric and embellished with stitching and traditional quilt squares. The image, an atomic-level picture of a key portion of an HIV protein as it looks when bound to an infection-fighting antibody published in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease’s (NIAID) newsletter, stems from research into an AIDS vaccine. (image credit NIAID)
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