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".
