Dec 1. World AIDS Day

Community Carnation Memorial -                                              

Join us at The 519, December 1, 5:45pm 

In the early days of PWA, staff sent floral arrangements to the funerals of clients who died. As more and more people continued to die, including staff and volunteers, PWA could no longer afford to send arrangements and instead sent one black rose with a card saying "We understand".

This powerful symbol and message inspired the staff and Board of PWA to build on this history and create a new tradition for World AIDS Day to remember the forgotten and honor the courage of so many infected and affected in the AIDS community. Since World AIDS Day 2007, PWA staff, volunteers and clients have brought a black rose and red carnations to the AIDS Memorial at Cawthra Park.

In 2008, the AIDS Vigil Committee approached PWA to ask about partnering together to make this a larger community event thus beginning the current annual Community Carnation Memorial where community members share personal stories to reconfirm the powerful message "We understand".