The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI)
Raising Awareness & Funding Research Through Art
www.AlzQuilts.org
Media
The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative
Short Version
The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) is an Internet-driven, grassroots, totally volunteer effort to raise awareness and fund research through art. It was founded in January 2006 by quilter Ami Simms. Her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2001.
More than $157,000 was collected for various chapters of the Alzheimer's Association during 2006 and 2007 by the AAQI. In January 2008, the AAQI became a Michigan nonprofit corporation and will be funding research directly.
The AAQI sponsors two major programs: a traveling exhibit of 52 quilts about Alzheimer's called "Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece" and the "Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt" project which involves the auction or sale of donated quilts no larger than 9" x 12". All profit is used to fund Alzheimer's research.
The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative
Long Version
The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) is an Internet-driven, grassroots, totally volunteer effort to raise awareness and fund research through art. It was founded in January 2006 by quilter Ami Simms. Her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2001.
More than $157,000 was collected for various chapters of the Alzheimer's Association during 2006 and 2007 by the AAQI. In January 2008, the AAQI became a Michigan nonprofit corporation and will be funding research directly.
The AAQI currently administers two major programs. The first is a nationwide quilt exhibit called "Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece". It contains 52 quilts each interpreting Alzheimer's in some way. So far, an estimated 192,000 people have had the opportunity to see this exhibit. It will continue to crisscross the country until the end of 2010. A book and a CD of the exhibit are available for purchase.
The second is the "Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt" project, so named for the urgent need for research dollars and the requirement that these quilts must fit into a flat cardboard USPS priority mailer without folding. They are small works of art no larger than 9 inches by 12 inches, offered in an online silent auction the first few days of each month or sold outright on the Internet or at selected venues across the United States.
More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, a progressive and degenerative brain disease that kills brain cells. People with Alzheimer's lose their memories, life skills, the ability to reason, to learn, and eventually to take care of themselves. It is always fatal unless another disease takes one's life first. Quilters across the United States are threading their needles in the hopes of bringing a cure for Alzheimer's disease one stitch closer.
Short Version
The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) is an Internet-driven, grassroots, totally volunteer effort to raise awareness and fund research through art. It was founded in January 2006 by quilter Ami Simms. Her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2001.
More than $157,000 was collected for various chapters of the Alzheimer's Association during 2006 and 2007 by the AAQI. In January 2008, the AAQI became a Michigan nonprofit corporation and will be funding research directly.
The AAQI sponsors two major programs: a traveling exhibit of 52 quilts about Alzheimer's called "Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece" and the "Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt" project which involves the auction or sale of donated quilts no larger than 9" x 12". All profit is used to fund Alzheimer's research.
The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative
Long Version
The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) is an Internet-driven, grassroots, totally volunteer effort to raise awareness and fund research through art. It was founded in January 2006 by quilter Ami Simms. Her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2001.
More than $157,000 was collected for various chapters of the Alzheimer's Association during 2006 and 2007 by the AAQI. In January 2008, the AAQI became a Michigan nonprofit corporation and will be funding research directly.
The AAQI currently administers two major programs. The first is a nationwide quilt exhibit called "Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece". It contains 52 quilts each interpreting Alzheimer's in some way. So far, an estimated 192,000 people have had the opportunity to see this exhibit. It will continue to crisscross the country until the end of 2010. A book and a CD of the exhibit are available for purchase.
The second is the "Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt" project, so named for the urgent need for research dollars and the requirement that these quilts must fit into a flat cardboard USPS priority mailer without folding. They are small works of art no larger than 9 inches by 12 inches, offered in an online silent auction the first few days of each month or sold outright on the Internet or at selected venues across the United States.
More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, a progressive and degenerative brain disease that kills brain cells. People with Alzheimer's lose their memories, life skills, the ability to reason, to learn, and eventually to take care of themselves. It is always fatal unless another disease takes one's life first. Quilters across the United States are threading their needles in the hopes of bringing a cure for Alzheimer's disease one stitch closer.