HistoryOfLocalQuilt

COMMITTEE

Carol Hart, Chairman

Norman Carmel

Stephanie Bashein Emerson

Terrell Hart

Jim Jablonski

Richard Trifari

John Acevedo
CAN Representative

Dear Friends,

The Southwest Florida Community AIDS Quilt Project began in (year). Several HIV+ men wanted to memorialize the friends and loved ones they had lost; done in the same manner as The Names Project (the national AIDS quilt), they started creating panels with the names of those in the Sarasota-Bradenton area who had succumbed to this modern scourge.

Nurtured by Sister Frances Nevolo, OLC, a nun who was executive director of Bethesda House from 1992 to 2002, word got around about our own “Names Project,” and many people began contributing to both the upkeep and the creation of the panels. Temple Sinai continued the support by introducing new quilts to be dedicated every year at their Seder of Hope, an interfaith interpretation of the Passover meal geared towards people who are infected or affected with HIV/AIDS. December 2004 saw the very first quilt panels hung in the rotunda of the Selby Public Library in honor of World AIDS Day on December 1. This display was so popular it remained there for a month and a half, and was viewed by thousands of people on Arts Day, January 16, 2005.

Starting in 2003, the entire collection of the Southwest Florida Community AIDS Quilt has been on display during Sarasota PrideFest. It is a moving and powerful experience to observe people walking through the Quilt Room as they see names they recognize, or even those they’ve only heard of. These were our friends and neighbors: Kay Johns, Mario Wallenda, Rev. Robert Pierce, Jym Hawkes, are only a few of the panels memorializing those who have been lost to us.

Our AIDS Quilt is now physically housed on the premises of CAN (Community AIDS Network), but disposition of the panels is decided by a Governing Board made up of mostly volunteer community members. We are dedicated not only to the safety and appropriate display of the quilt, but also to fighting ignorance and apathy concerning HIV/AIDS and the people it affects.

It is to this end that we have begun a website project to permanently document the Southwest Florida Community AIDS Quilt. Each panel will be painstakingly photographed and accompanied by information about the person memorialized and how the panel was created. When finished, the site will be available to all area libraries and high schools, to be used as a source of historical information and creative inspiration. We believe it is vital to keep the message of the AIDS quilt alive, to capture each panel in its uniqueness for future generations to know their story.

Thank you for your generosity and your commitment to our community.

Sincerely,

Southwest Florida Community AIDS Quilt Governing Board
Carol Hart, Chairman
Norman Carmel
Stephanie Bashein Emerson
Terrell Hart
Jim Jablonski
Richard Trifari
John Acevedo, CAN Representative

The following e-mail received February 12, 2008:

Dear Bart and Jim,

Every once in a while I check on my very active nephews, grand nephews and nieces and just a little bit ago went on search for Nevolos. (the talented musicians, tennis players, acrobats, outstanding students etc. show up) Occasionally my name has popped up because of some Catholic Charities connection, or even the National Catholic AIDS Network, but today the Community Quilt web site was a link. First of all, please tell the committee, I think you did a terrific job - it's great. Secondly, thank you for honoring me by including that particular article. The memory that surfaced first was a picture the Sarasota Herald ran of the individual's who actually started designing and sewing the panels--Richard H, Phil, Tom and Bill, "Bear" and Dale Epping a Bethesda House volunteer. Their motivation came from love for others and a sincere desire that "they not be forgotten." You show the same care and commitment. May the Lord bless what you do in so many ways to support People Living with AIDS and HIV.

I continue to miss the ministry. Love, Sr. Frances

Community AIDS Network
1231 North Tuttle Avenue
Sarasota, FL 34237
(941) 366-0461
www.cccsrq.org