AIDS Memorial Quilt Coming to Scottsdale Community College, November 16 – 20

Scottsdale, AZ (November 2, 2009) – To commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1, the SPARK Club (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Straight Alliance) at Scottsdale Community College will be hosting a display of sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt November 16 – 20, 2009 from 8am – 10pm. 

The AIDS Memorial Quilt, started by the Names Project Foundation in 1987, will be on display in the Student Center (SC) at the SCC campus at 9000 E. Chaparral Rd., Scottsdale.  The public is invited to come to campus to see the Quilt and gather related information that will be displayed around the Quilt.  Map of campus location: http://tiny.cc/aWqJZ.

“Besides the quilt, we will have displays giving facts about the disease and the quilt,” said Dr. Tim Larey, Professor of Psychology at SCC, Faculty Advisor of the SPARK Club, and coordinator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt display.  “We will also have tables set up to answer questions and provide information to help raise awareness about AIDS related issues.”

Founded in 1987, The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a poignant memorial, a powerful tool for use in preventing new HIV infections, and the largest ongoing community arts project in the world. Each "block" (or section) of The AIDS Memorial Quilt measures approximately twelve feet square, and a typical block consists of eight individual three foot by six foot panels sewn together. Virtually every one of the more than 40,000 colorful panels that make up the Quilt memorializes the life of a person lost to AIDS.

“The quilt is significant because it is a symbolic representation of the scope of the disease and the number of lives it has affected," said Larey.

Started on December 1, 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education.  The World AIDS Day theme for 2009 is “Universal Access and Human Rights.”  World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

For more information about the display, call (480) 423-6667.

For more information about the AIDS Memorial Quilt and its history, go to:  http://www.aidsquilt.org/.

For more information about World AIDS Day, go to:  http://www.worldaidscampaign.org/.

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Scottsdale Community College offers over 1,500 academic and non-credit classes each semester. Located on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the campus is known for its serene atmosphere and beautiful plant and wildlife. With nearly 12,000 students, Scottsdale Community College is proud to offer high-quality, affordable programs in small class settings. From Motion Picture/Television Production and Culinary Arts to Nursing and American Indian Studies, students have a wide variety of programs from which to earn credits for university transfer, launch their careers, train for new ones, or pursue a special interest. The SCC Business Institute offers customized programs to meet the needs of local business. Scottsdale Community College is one of the ten Maricopa Community Colleges.

To learn about the many academic programs at Scottsdale Community College, call us at (480) 423-6000 or visit our website at www.scottsdalecc.edu.

Media contact:
Denise Kronsteiner
(480) 423-6567
denise.kronsteiner@sccmail.maricopa.edu

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