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Volume 34
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First-ever virtual AIDS Quilt to honor world AIDS Day - Online users will be able to create a quilt and share stories

First-ever virtual AIDS Quilt to honor world AIDS Day - Online users will be able to create a quilt and share stories
LOS ANGELES - here!, America's premium gay television network, announces the creation of the Internet's first Virtual AIDS Quilt, which will pay tribute to the many lives that have been lost to AIDS. The Virtual AIDS Quilt can be found online at the following here! Interactive Media sites: www.heretv.com, www.247gay.com, www.gaywired.com and www.lesbianation.com. The site has been designed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the AIDS pandemic and build up to World AIDS Day on December 1, 2006, when it will be fully unveiled to the global online community. "After 25 years, the AIDS epidemic has become a global concern," notes Paul Colichman, here!'s Founder and CEO. "HIV/AIDS has become a killer that does not discriminate based on race, creed or sexual orientation, and the Virtual AIDS Quilt will celebrate the lives of all of those who have been taken from us while helping to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention efforts around the globe." The Virtual AIDS Quilt has been designed to allow friends and family members to remember those close to them that have been lost to this devastating disease. Anyone who would like to have their loved one remembered on the Virtual AIDS Quilt can do so by uploading photos and sharing stories. The Virtual AIDS Quilt encourages the global community not only to remember those no longer with us but also to support the continuing education behind prevention and management of HIV and AIDS. here! will be partnering with several national and local HIV/AIDS organizations on this initiative including: The UCLA Center for Clinical AIDS Research and Education, Cable Positive, Gay Men's Heath Crisis (GMHC), HIV/AIDS Legal Services Alliance (HALSA), The Center for Health Justice and AID for AIDS among many others. "The tremendous progress that we have made in improving the treatment of HIV infection would not be possible without the efforts of the people who volunteered to participate in the clinical trials done over the past twenty years," states Judith Currier, Co-Director of the UCLA Center for Clinical AIDS Research and Education. "The research volunteers are the true heroes of this epidemic. As we continue to work to refine our treatment options through clinical trials and to make treatment more widely available we continue to rely on the generosity of people living with HIV who step forward to participate in the research process. here!'s Virtual AIDS Quilt will now allow the global community to participate in remembering those we've lost and educate those who continue to be affected by the pandemic," she added. Visitors to the site will be able to scroll through an endless number of photos and literally watch as the Virtual AIDS Quilt grows with images and stories for the global online community to experience. The easy-to-use site will guide users through the uploading process giving them a chance to dedicate a personalized quilt and share their memories with the world. "here! has broken new ground once again. For the first time in the Internet's existence, this pioneering cable network is making a powerful symbol of the fight against HIV/AIDS available, interactive, and participatory online by creating a Virtual AIDS Quilt," stated Steve Villano, President and CEO of Cable Positive. "This is a bold and innovative illustration of how cable networks around the country use their resources, commitment and talent to educate the public about HIV/AIDS, and time and again the caring and creative team of people at here! have been leaders in the fight against this public health emergency, still raging in many communities in the U.S., where 40,000 new HIV infections occur each year-more than half in people under 25 years old. here!'s direct action of HIV/AIDS education and awareness reaches out directly to this age group, through a medium they use constantly, and with great fluency," he added. Upload your photo and story today by visiting one of the here! Interactive Media sites at: www.heretv.com, www.gaywired.com, www.247gay.com or www.lesbination.com. Visitors will be sent a copy of their submission and will be able to see their remembrance published when the Virtual Quilt is fully unveiled to the global online community on World AIDS Day on December 1, 2006. Additional HIV and AIDS service organizations will also be linked to the site to provide more information and educational and health resources. To add your organization to the growing list of community partners, please email jonathona@heretv.com. A here! press release