Burlington County Assembling Quilt For World AIDS Day

The Burlington County Health Department is looking for eight people to participate in an AIDS Memorial Quilt Panel Making Session on Thursday, June 27, county officials announced. June 27 is National HIV Testing Day.

Participants would create their own panel in honor of a loved one. That panel would become part of a dedicated Burlington County/Southern Jersey 12-by-12-foot quilt block.

Once all panels are completed, they will be shipped to the NAMES Project Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia for final assembly into the 12-by-12-foot block. Those interested in participating should contact the Health Department at 609-265-5548.

“It is important that we continue to honor and remember those lost to AIDS. We are encouraging the community to come out and participate in this quilt making event to spread awareness on this important topic,” Burlington County Freeholder Daniel O’Connell, liaison to the Health Department, said. “Our health department does an incredible job with their health outreach efforts, and we hope residents will take advantage of the free programs that they offer.”

“It is crucial that we educate our residents about the importance of knowing their HIV status, and ways to prevent the disease,” Burlington County Health Department Director Dr. Herb Conaway said. “HIV screening is recommended for patients in all health-care settings after the patient is notified that testing will be performed unless the patient declines (opt-out screening).”

The AIDS Memorial Quilt began in San Francisco in June 1987 when a small group of people gathered to honor those lost to AIDS. Today, the AIDS Memorial Quilt is a powerful reminder of the AIDS pandemic with more than 48,000 individual 3-by-6-foot panels sewn together to commemorate the life of someone who has died of AIDS.

The dedicated Burlington County/Southern Jersey 12-by-12-foot quilt block will be unfurled in December 2019 along with other World AIDS Day events.

To learn more about the AIDS Memorial Quilt and specifics on making a panel, visitwww.aidsquilt.org.

To sign up for the AIDS Memorial Quilt panel making session, call 609-265-5548. For information about HIV testing at the Health Department, call 609-265-5533 or visitwww.co.burlington.nj.us/1331/HIVAIDS.