The
Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative will most likely reach the
$1,000,000 mark in money raised for Alzheimer’s research some time in 2013!
The work of your hands and the compassion in your hearts has brought
us to this milestone. I will be forever grateful to each and every one
of you for your support and dedication.
Ami and her mother, Beebe, in 2006 shortly after the AAQI began.
What began as one person’s response to sorrow and frustration has
grown into a national charity embraced by a large portion of the
quilting community. More than 13,000 quilts have been
donated, turning sweat equity into over
$883,000
for research so far. For many donors these quilts were healing works of
art which helped them grieve as they stitched for the greater good.
Hundreds of thousands of people have seen the AAQI’s two traveling quilt
exhibits about Alzheimer’s. Through this artistry came the realization
for many that they were not alone on this journey of heartbreak; others
understood, perhaps for the first time, what a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s
really means. Together quilters have funded 11 research studies at six
universities and a medical school. Three more studies will be funded
this month and hopefully more throughout 2013. Because of the AAQI,
scientists know a little bit more about Alzheimer’s than they did
before. Hopefully this understanding will bring us all closer to a cure.
When I created the AAQI back in 2006, I never expected it to become
so successful! I also never imaged how much work it would take to keep
it going. As the AAQI blossomed, board members and core volunteers have
had to increase our hours and pace to keep up. While I find enormous
satisfaction in nurturing the AAQI, I much prefer sewing to
administrating. I miss just being a full-time quilter.
For this reason, 2013 will be the last year of fundraising for the
Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative. I hope you will help the AAQI reach
our goal of One Million Dollars for research and then at the end of 2013
celebrate with everyone who made this tremendous achievement possible.
Please review the important dates below:
March 1, 2013: First online auction of quilts from “Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope” traveling exhibit. Twenty-six
Name Quilts
will be auctioned during the first 10 days of March, April, May, June,
July, August, and September. Payment will be required at the conclusion
of each auction with shipping in October 2013 after the exhibit retires.
The 54 Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts from the traveling exhibit will be
auctioned during the first 10 days of October and December.
October 29 – November 3, 2013: International Quilt Festival. We hope to be invited back one last time to sell quilts in Houston, TX.
November 1-10, 2013: Celebrity Invitational Quilt Online Auction
December 30, 2013: Last day Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts can be
purchased online.
December 31, 2013: Quilts For Sale and
Donation pages will be removed from the AAQI website and all solicitations will cease.
2014-2015: The Alzheimer’s Art
Quilt Initiative will monitor research grants awarded in 2013. The AQQI
web page will be left intact for at least six months. Any funds not
needed to sustain the AAQI’s final expenses will be donated to research.
Remaining assets will be disposed of according to IRS regulations after
which time the corporation will be dissolved.
There is still much work to this year as we sprint to the finish
line. I hope everyone who reads this will join in, either as a seasoned
veteran or a first time quilt donor or quilt buyer. We will continue to
make a difference until the very last quilt is sold. Let’s make 2013 the
best year ever!
Thank you for your support,
Ami Simms
Founder & Executive Director
Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative
DISCLOSURES
Michele Bilyeu blogs
With Heart and Hands as she shares a quilting journey through her life in Salem, Oregon and Douglas, Alaska and all of her
AAQI Quilting. Sharing thousands of links to
Free Quilt and Quilt Block Patterns and encouraging others to join in the
Liberated Quilting Challenge and make or donate small art quilts to the
Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) Help us change the world, one little quilt at a time!
Everyone admires a quilt.
