Frequently Asked Questions

Who can put on a display?

Any school or youth-serving 501(c)3 organizations within the United States can conduct a display of sections of The AIDS Memorial Quilt. Schools and organizations must form a Quilt Display Team made up of students/clients, teachers/instructors and other staff.

Where can the Quilt be shown?

Displays of The Quilt can be held in a school auditorium, library, gymnasium or any other indoor, secure location. Detailed guides on how to display the Quilt are provided to participating schools and organizations. In short, displays of The Quilt must be held indoors in secure, monitored locations.

When can a display be held?

Any time during the year. Applications need to be submitted at least 90 days prior to the display, or, if a school-based display, the semester before. Many displays are planned to coincide with World AIDS Day (December 1)- if you're planning one of these, take note of special early deadlines for all World AIDS Day displays of the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Why display The Quilt?

A display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt brings the entire school or community together to learn about AIDS. It brings home a strong HIV prevention message for young people and encourages them to make healthy choices. How? By putting names to the statistics, and by illustrating the lives behind the names.

Too often when a young person lacks a personal relationship with someone directly affected by HIV/AIDS, they develop the feeling that the disease will never affect them- they feel invinceable.

The Quilt and the lives it memorializes serve to remind us all that for every statistic showing a death related to HIV/AIDS, there was indeed a life that ended, young or old, male or female, rich or poor... Unique in its ability to present the humanity behind statistics and prevention-education, it is that humanity within the Quilt that touches students and makes the lessons real.