FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 27, 2007
SECTIONS OF WORLD-FAMOUS NAMES PROJECT AIDS QUILT
ON DISPLAY AT HUDSON VALLEY LGBTQ COMMUNITY CENTER
TO COMMEMORATE WORLD AIDS DAY EVENT ON DECEMBER 1.
Activists Brent Nicholson Earle and Jane Elven
will Address Attendees; Of Rare AIDS Activist Art
KINGSTON, NY (Nov. 27) Sections of the world-famous AIDS Quilt, provided by The NAMES Project, are at the centerpiece of a local commemoration of World AIDS Day 2007. The Saturday, December 1 evening program will feature speeches, music, and a commemoration of those lost to the global pandemic of AIDS. The program will begin at 7pm in The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center at 300 Wall Street, Kingston.
Joining Center leadership in this meeting are several groups meeting regularly at the Center, including CenterSAGE (Service and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) and OLOC (Old Lesbians Organizing for Change), groups that advocate for LGBTQ seniors.
Entitled "25 Years of Witness: World AIDS Day 2007," the program features speeches by pioneering AIDS activists, and an exhibition of AIDS activist art by New York AIDS activists. The program is co-sponsored by the Center, AIDS-Related Community Services (ARCS), and Planned Parenthood of the Mid-Hudson Valley. It begins at 7pm at The Center, located at 300 Wall Street in Kingston. Admission is free and all are welcome.
"A quarter-century has passed, and AIDS continues to challenge our strength, our courage and our humanity," said Ginny Apuzzo, Center president."On World AIDS Day, we pause to remember the millions who have perished before rededicating ourselves to the crucial education and research needed to vanquish this pandemic forever. We invite the entire Hudson Valley community to join us in acknowledging this bitter milestone."
Two leading names in AIDS education will speak during the evening program. Jane Elven, Director of HIV Prevention Services for Planned Parenthood of the Mid-Hudson Valley, will present "Youth Education and HIV Prevention: Working in the Hudson Valley and Abroad". She will also offer a global perspective of the pandemic, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. This year, members of Planned Parenthood accompanied peer educators to Durban, South Africa on an 18- day study tour of AIDS in Africa. A 7-minute film on the experience will be screened.
The second speaker is Brent Nicholson Earle, an AIDS activist for more than two decades. His speech is entitled "World AIDS Day: More Than an Annual Wake-Up Call". Earle commanded international acclaim in 1986 when he launched The American Run for the End of AIDS, eventually running 9,000 miles around the United States to raise awareness and funds for the fight against AIDS. His 70-year old mother, Marion, accompanied Earle on this unprecedented journey. A speaker on AIDS issues around the world, Earle most recently addressed the annual meeting of The Federation of Gay Games.
World AIDS Day 2007 will showcase a collection of AIDS art, drawn from the work of art held in private collections of early AIDS activists. Posters, decals and t-shirts are among the rare items hanging throughout The Center. The exhibition will be on display throughout the month of December.
ARCS is the largest organization solely dedicated to providing services to individuals and families infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS in New York's seven county region of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester. More info at www.arcs.org.
Since 1934, Planned Parenthood has been a steady and trusted presence in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Eleven medical centers, located throughout Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties, provide a wide range of comprehensive reproductive health services to nearly 50,000 people annually. More info at www.lgbtqcenter.org.
* LGBTQ refers to the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of those people the Center serves: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals.