OUR SITE HAS MOVED TO WWW.CALLTOACTIONQUILT.ORG

You can help embrace the spirit and hope of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation with your creativity and generosity. Our future belongs to children the world over. Our mission is to provide hope, comfort and caring through quilts donated by people like you. As you can imagine, these quilts will help brighten the day of the children, young adults and mothers that receive them and at the same time, help to bring an increased awareness to AIDS in the world today. In addition to quilts, quilt blocks featuring children of the world are also needed. Your donated quilt blocks will be pieced into quilts and placed on auction with all proceeds to benefit the EGPAF. Quilts of all sizes, colors and shapes are welcome!

If you are interested in contributing a quilt, quilt blocks, or would like more information, please feel free to call or email me with any questions.

Please read on for more information about the foundation and the Call to Action Project.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation creates a future that offers hope through pediatric research and programs worldwide to ensure children are at the forefront of every scientific breakthrough.

Their mission is to identify, fund and conduct critical pediatric research that will lead to better treatments and prevention of HIV infection in infants and children, to reduce and prevent HIV transmission from mother to child and to accelerate the discovery of new treatments for other serious and life-threatening pediatric diseases.

In 1981, Elizabeth Glaser, wife of director / actor Paul Michael Glaser was infected with HIV through a blood transfusion after giving birth to their daughter Ariel. Unknowingly the AIDS virus was transmitted to her daughter Ariel through her breast milk and to her son Jake in utero. Devastated by Ariel's death in 1988, Elizabeth along with her friends Susie Zeegen and Susan DeLaurentis created a foundation to support pediatric HIV/AIDS research. Confounded by the fact that little to no research was being done on pediatric AIDS, they developed the concept of individual scientists collaborating to create and interdisciplinary research, a sharing of ideas, and the creation of a greater pool of knowledge. An incredible and first of its kind achievement which continues to have a significant impact on not only HIV/AIDS research, but how HIV relates to other diseases.

In 1994, sadly, Elizabeth died of HIV complications. Today, the Foundation continues to serve as a voice for children. It carries out its work to stop pediatric AIDS all over the world. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has established a solid community of medical scientists helping to accelerate the reduction of the rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission, the discovery of preventative treatments and vaccine investigation.

Today the Foundation has extended its passionate commitment to savings the lives and improving the health of even more children through the Glaser Pediatric Network linking five of the leading academic medical centers in the US. These include Baylor, Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, and UCSF who will engage in interdisciplinary research on life threatening pediatric diseases.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation's Call to Action Project began in September of 1999. The mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV in the developing world has reached epidemic proportions and continues to grow at an alarming rate. CTA will help to reduce MTCT in a variety of ways by:

· working closely with local healthcare facilities, community based organizations, and governments to plan, implement and expand programs that are best suited to the local culture and society.
· educating health care workers and community members on issues surrounding HIV prevention, transmission and treatment;
· providing comprehensive care and support services for mothers and entire families to insure that families stay healthy and communities remain in tact.
· providing access to health services and treatment to pregnant women and infants in rural communities with little to no healthcare infrastructure, and to those without the economic means necessary to obtain such services;

One of the greatest successes in the battle against HIV is the development of effective interventions that can prevent mother-to-child transmission. Through counseling, testing, and low-cost drug interventions, the Foundation is leading the global effort to bring these interventions to where they are most needed, and to reduce and ultimately eliminate mother-to-child transmission. With geographically and culturally diverse sites in over 300 locations throughout these 17 countries, the Foundation will reach a half a million women each year providing hope for their newborn children, and care and support for them and their families.

The Call to Action Project is now active in the following countries: Angola, Cameroon, The Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Honduras, India, Kenya, Malawi, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Some additional HIV/AIDS facts:

The Global Pandemic:
· More than 42 million people are infected with HIV worldwide - 3.2 million of them are children.
· 95% of these people live in developing nations.
· Around the world, more than five million people are newly infected each year.
· Women now account for 50% of all the number of people living with HIV/AIDS
· Approximately 4 young people (aged 15 - 24) become infected with HIV every minute.
· More than 500,000 children die annually from AIDS.

The Epidemic in the US:
· It is estimated that 2 adolescents are infected with HIV every hour.
· Mother-to-child transmission of HIV has accounted for 91% of all AIDS cases reporter among children.

There are approximately 800,000 - 900,000 people currently living with HIV. 200,000 of those people don't know they are infected, putting them at high risk of spreading the infection.

Quilts may be dropped off at (or mailed to) Pam's house.

Pam Meserve
22 Garfield Ave
Medford, MA 02155
781-395-8307
781-396-9352
Email = datalova@aol.com

To send monetary donations, please send payment to:
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
2950 31st Street, #125
Santa Monica, CA 90405

For more information about the foundation or to make donations on-line, please visit their website.
www.pedaids.org

Donations can also be made through work place giving such as United Way (designation code # 0484)