In 1992, Lutheran Social Services expanded into addressing health-related issues in the Jacksonville
community. Through a program we call AIDS Care and Education (ACE), we provide assistance to people
and families who are HIV-positive or living with AIDS through case management, counseling support,
and education services. Through these efforts, great strides have been made in the overall impact of
AIDS in Jacksonville's most at-risk communities. For more information about our AIDS education and
counseling programs, please see the following sections of our site.
PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT:
The AIDS Memorial Quilt makes an impact in Jacksonville
It embodies the definition of bittersweet. It memorializes over 19,000 lives and has spoken to over
15 million people. It’s over 52 miles long and weighs over 54 tons. It’s the AIDS Memorial Quilt,
the world’s greatest and most powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic, the largest ongoing
community arts project on the planet, and an uncommonly beautiful response to the tragic loss of human life.
Sections, or “blocks,” of the AIDS Quilt have traveled the world since its creation by the NAMES Project
Foundation in 1987. Virtually every one of the more than 44,000 colorful panels of the Quilt memorializes
the life of a person lost to AIDS. The Quilt is sewn together by friends, lovers and family members of those
lost and serves as a poignant memorial and a powerful tool for use in preventing new HIV infections. Each block
of the quilt measures approximately 12 feet square and typically consists of eight individual three foot by six
foot panels sewn together. Some of the materials used in creation have included sentiments such as photographs,
car keys, T-shirts, wedding rings, love letters, merit badges and teddy bears. As the epidemic continues to take
lives in the United States and across the globe, the Quilt constantly grows in size with messages of remembrance,
awareness and hope.
The City of Jacksonville was honored to receive 40 blocks of the Quilt for display April 4-7 at the University of
North Florida Sports Arena. Lutheran Social Services staff was proud to volunteer at the event and assist in the
Quilt’s ceremonial unveiling.
The AIDS Quilt is a labor of love and mere photographs cannot convey the lasting impression it leaves on all its
visitors. It was displayed for the first time on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11, 1987, during
the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It covered a space larger than a football field and
consisted of almost 2,000 panels. Over half a million people visited the Quilt that weekend. The overwhelming
response to the inaugural display led to a national tour for the Quilt in the spring of 1988, with stops in 20
cities across America. The tour raised nearly $500,000 for hundreds of AIDS service organizations, and more than
9,000 volunteers across the country helped the seven-person traveling crew move and display the Quilt. Local
panels were added in each city, tripling the Quilt’s size to more than 6,000 panels by the end of the tour.
In 1989, the AIDS Memorial Quilt was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
The last display of the Quilt in its entirety was in 1996 in Washington, D.C. However, with individual sections
traveling the world throughout the year, the Quilt is able to speak its message to millions of people across the
globe. Over 37 nations have contributed panels to the Quilt, and it has raised over 4 million dollars for countless
HIV/AIDS service organizations. In 2006, U.S. Congress officially recognized the AIDS Memorial Quilt as a National
Treasure, joining the company of other such treasures like the Statue of Liberty, Bill of Rights, the Declaration
of Independence and Yellowstone National Park.
While the display of 40 blocks at the UNF Arena was an impressive and beautiful sight, it represented less than
one percent of the entire Quilt. Any person may create a panel to memorialize a loved one that has died of AIDS,
and new panels continue to be received by the NAMES Project Foundation throughout the year. Students from UNF
contributed a panel at the Quilt’s opening ceremony on April 4.
In addition to the Quilt’s display, the Department of Health Promotion at the University of North Florida offered
free, anonymous HIV testing. These tests are painless and do not require the use of needles, and results typically
arrive two weeks after testing. Getting tested for HIV is one of the most important preventative measures in the fight against the spread of the disease. Of the 850,000 to 950,000 people estimated to be living with HIV in the United States, an average of one-quarter, but as many as a third (180,000 to 280,000) do not even know they are infected.
LSS IN THE COMMUNITY
In addition to volunteering at the display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, staff members have also represented the
agency at Jacksonville Community Council Inc.’s Forward Issue Forum called “Out in Jacksonville: Status and Impact
of our Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Community.” During these discussions, the status and impact
of the GLBTs in the workplace as well as health, well-being, legal rights and protection, religion and education
were all addressed. With meetings held every Wednesday evening from Jan. 24 through March 28 at JCCI, the forum’s
goal was to offer a venue for citizens to interact with respected community leaders and resource experts on issues
of concern to Northeast Florida’s citizens. Attending this forum on behalf of Lutheran Social Services were Dan
Ashdon, director of operations, and Karen Rieley, director of advancement. You can read more about the forum and
about JCCI Forward, of which LSS is also a member, at: http://www.jcci.org/about/news.aspx?newsID=132.
Lutheran Social Services of Northeast Florida •
Jacksonville, FL 32207 •
904.448.5995/fax 904.448.6044
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It embodies the definition of bittersweet. It memorializes over 19,000 lives and has spoken to over
15 million people. It’s over 52 miles long and weighs over 54 tons. It’s the AIDS Memorial Quilt,
the world’s greatest and most powerful visual reminder of the AIDS pandemic, the largest ongoing
community arts project on the planet, and an uncommonly beautiful response to the tragic loss of human life.