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:
February 15, 2013: All bookings for the traveling exhibit “Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope” must be finalized.
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 1, 2013: A selection of 30 Name Quilts will be auctioned during April. The rest of the Name Quilts will be offered for sale during the Fall.
May, May, June, July, August, and September: We will return to auctioning Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts. The 54 Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts from the traveling exhibit will be auctioned during the first 10 days of October and December.
July 2013: Last month to participate in the Quilt-A-Month Club.
August 1, 2013: Last day to register Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts. Quilts delivered to scanners after August 20 will be refused.
October 1, 2013: Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts #1-#27 from the traveling exhibit will be auctioned during the first 10 days of the month.
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 1 2013: Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts #28-#54 from the traveling exhibit will be auctioned during the first 10 days of the month.
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
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I am glad, and proud, to have contributed a quilt, and I know that it sold and helped out.
It is sad that you are ending, but I understand the reasons why. What you have done is PHENOMINAL and OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kudos. Thank you.
Thank you!
Ami, I married my second husband only to find he had Alzheimer’s. He lived another 14 years. When he died in 1996.I lived on;y on Social Security and I could no longer donate money to charities.I became a quilter to see me through the rough times taking care of him.AAQI gave me a way to help when there was no money.I also have rescued dogs and trained them as therapy dogs to bring joy to other dementia patients.Bless you.
Joan Kellett
You’ve made some wonderful quilts for the AAQI and we are so grateful! Thank you!
I’m so sorry to hear that AAQI will fail to exist. What a great fund raiser it has provided . As the parent and wife of ones suffering I feel especially sad for the lose. As a person with early onset
dementia I am at a lose to understand why this has happened.Thanks Caralyn
I think this is absolutely wonderful! Having a grandmother pass away from Alz and a father in the middle stages of this horrible disease, I would like to help any way I can. I just found this link through Bernina USA FB page and need to read more about HOW I can actually help. Thank you
Ami I so understand, but am also so sad to see this wonderful charity close. The ladies of the Orlando MQG were introduced to AAQI by a couple of or members, and your ardent fans. We made it a guild “challenge” one month and it inspired so many members. We have continued to love making quilts for AAQI. We will all miss it greatly, but are well acquainted with the need to have “a life”. THANK YOU and all the volunteers for all you have done!
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Ami, what you have done is simply amazing. Almost $1,000,000.00 – good for you and all those who have helped. Your generosity of time and committment to the AAQI is wonderful. I want to participate – just haven’t been able too, for health and money reasons, but this year – I am at least going to make one quilt. Thanks for all you do. I’ve told you before, but if I had a daughter I’d want her to have your sense of humour. I have laughed and laughed at your blogs and books, especially, “How not to make a Prizewinning Quilt.” Sincerely, Margaret Lee
Thank you, Margaret!
Bravo to Ami for all her hard work and it paid off. I pray they will find a way to eliminate Alzheimer’s my mother suffered and thus we did since she didn’t know us. She starved at the end of her life. My mother was such an independent hard worker she didn’t deserve this. God bless you for your work we love you for it. Wish I had the strength to help. kind regards Evelyn
So proud of the vision you had to start this, Ami, and for all of the volunteers who caught your vision. Congratulations on a job very well done. I am confident you’ll reach the million dollar mark. Happy quilting!
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Ami, I’m so proud of you and your sweet volunteers.
May God continue to bless you and all your endeavors.
Many blessings,
pam stahl (formerly of Real Women Quilt)
Thank you Pam!
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Ami:
Although I am quite saddened to see this FABULOUS organization come to an end, I TOTALLY respect and admire you Ami for your ability to ‘make that decision.’ This disease, although devastating for those with the disease, somehow brings out an inner strength to those immediately affected by it. Some of us used that inner strenght in quilting as a way to express our anger and ‘work through it.’ I’m proud to have been a contributor and honored to have had one of my quilts accepted into the traveling exhibit. I wish only the best for you as you ‘find your new way’ and move on. KUDOS to all of the staff and support team of the AAQI – you have done an AMAZING JOB!!!
I am so sad to hear that AAQI will soon come to an end but THANK YOU, THANK YOU for ALL that you and the MANY VOLUNTEERS have done to make this project such a success for such a worthy cause. Purchasing these small quilts in honor and memory of many family members affected by this terrible disease has just been my way to be a small part of such a great endeavor. Over thirty AAQI quilts grace the walls in my home and I wish it could have been more!
Many times I was outbid on an auction quilt but always found many more on the Quilts for Sale
page that I loved and purchased! I, too, will MISS having the AAQI booth at the Houston IQA show
as it was the first place I always visited! THANK YOU again for giving us the opportunity to be a
small part of funding research for a cure! YOUR contribution will be long remembered with gratefulness! May you have many, many years of quilting pleasures and blessings as YOU ALL
have been a BLESSING TO MANY! Thank you again!!!
Charlotte,
Hopefully you’ll have one more year to shop the AAQI booth in Houston!
It is a pity that this decision has been taken! This work was my monthly motivation, a way to contribute for the research of this disease, my hope! …there´s so much to be done!!!…however I understand the reasons that have caused you to make this decision.
I´m in shock!! Isn´t there another solution?
Thank you Ami for giving me this opportunity and blessing for the whole group of volunteers
I’m sorry you are disappointed, but this was really the only option that was right for us.
To everyone at AAQI, many thanks for all you have done. I have bought quilts at Houston every year that I’ve attended since you started there. I have donated quilts, but nothing I have done compares to the enormous amount of time and effort you all have contributed to this cause. May God bless you all for your tremendous efforts. I hope you all enjoy getting back to your love of quilting.
Thank you so much! Hope we can see you in Houston again this year!
Ami, you deserve some serious quilting time in 2014. Thanks for putting AAQI on the map; I hope someone else picks up this marvelous effort and runs with it!
Thanks for your kind words.
I have been aware of AAQI for several years and wished I could have participated in the program, But…alas, I have neither the money to buy quilts nor the skill to make such small quilts. I thank you anyway for all your efforts. My mother and two of her sisters died with “It”. I expect to feel it licking at my heels….someday….
Chris, you can still help just by telling your friends. We depend on kind words to spread the word.
I’m so sad that the AAQI is ending! I have donated many quilts, although I’ve slowed down since learning there is a new case of the dreaded disease in my family. I appreciate all that’s involved for you, Ami, and all the volunteers that have helped.
So, my mission this year is to reach out to as many people as I can, quilters and non-quilters, to either make or purchase a quilt.
Let’s get the total to over $1 million!
Well said, Betty! On to a MILLION (and maybe even beyond)!
I will be forever grateful to Ami Simms and AAQI for so many, many reasons. Making little quilts helped me feel useful when my mother-in-law was suffering from Alzheimer’s and I felt so hopeless. My life has been completely changed by a tiny ad about a charity asking for donations of 9×12 art quilts that I saw years ago in a quilt magazine. I Googled art quilts to see if I could possibly make something worthy of sending. Ami has been so available to answer questions and boost confidence. That always amazed me. I still stutter when I talk to her IN PERSON on the phone. Thank you, Ami. You have changed my life by giving me a purpose and introducing me to the wonderful world of art quilts and art quilters. I think your mother and my mother-in-law would be so proud. I know I am.
Thank you Judy! I too have been changed by this experience. I think we all have.
This has been an awesome charity to contribute to, with all the good work it’s done and the amazing high spirits of all the volunteers. I’ve been moved to tears by the artists’ statements, and I’ve wrenched deep cathartic emotions forth from myself in making my donations. The money raised has gone to important research and education, bringing us closer to understanding and healing the human brain. Thank you Ami for creating this mission and letting us join you in it. Thanks to all the AAQI participants and buyers. I will miss doing this work.
Peg, thank you so much for being a part of the AAQI. It feels so good to read all these positive comments.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank you, Ami, and everyone else who has spent so many hours and done such a remarkable job raising funds for this most important research! What an amazing accomplishment-$1,000,000!!! Blessings on you all.
Thank you, Lynn! Your kind words go a long way!
Ami, it’s been a joy to work with you, Debbie, Mickey, Cathy, Jennie, and all the rest. The Houston IQF will never be the same again after 2013 without the excited crowd at the AAQI booth, whooping and hollering when one of our quiltlets find a home.
Thank you for your incredible accomplishment in leading this farflung bunch of quilters to such an outstanding finale. Thank you for your humor, for your blogs as well as Madison’s and Scooter’s, for the splendid organization of this HUGE project. And many thanks to Steve for sharing you with us!
Happy Quilting, dear Ami!
Bid Drake
Thank you for all your help, Bid! We do make quite a beautiful “noise” in the Exhibit Hall, don’t we? Thank you for being a part of it all!
Thank you Ami and all the amazing volunteers who have worked so hard for so long. My daughter and I saw the exhibit many years ago in Houston and it is so moving. Even more so when your life has been closely touched by Alzheimers. Today is the fifth anniversary of my Mothers death after battling the disease for 11 years, so it seems kind of personally appropriate to read the announcement.
Corinne, we have lost too many to this vile disease. But we can all stand tall knowing we didn’t just wring our hands, we used our hands to try to make a difference.
Thank you so very much. The first time I heard of this I had felt so alone because of my mother’s passing with this disease in 1991, and you allowed me to add her name to one of those quilts. I am so sorry to hear of the end, but I am confident that it will go out with much love. Thank you, Thank you
Thank you, Debbie.
AAQI has been my charity of choice for several years because it is not like other charites. I love the fact that it has been an all volunteer effort. I will contiue to make quilts but the ones I have made for AAQI have been special to me. Thanks for the opportunity to join you in this endeavor.
Dorothy, thank you for being a part of the AAQI.
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I am sorry to hear this! I just submitted my first quilt! What an amazing group of volunteeers. I can appreciate all of the work it must have taken to set up AAQI and sustain it for so many years. It is an extraordinary thing you have done and my family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts.
Thank you, Karen! And don’t fret too much. You still have time to make lots more quilts for us!
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I have loved being a part of the AAQI! It was the one charity and one cause that I could really put my heart and soul into. The fact that it is an all-volunteer organization is the core of it’s strength and value – to make it into something else by giving it overhead and staff would ruin it. The AAQI is quilters getting together to help raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research. It is not a “job” – it is thousands of acts of love joined together to create a powerful force. We considered, and dismissed, the idea of making it a staffed charity with true overhead. We dismissed the idea because that would twist and change what Ami’s vision was all about: many hands, many stitches and a whole lot of love. It wouldn’t be the same and it wouldn’t be right. So Bravo Ami for having the courage to create and nurture this fabulous undertaking through to one million dollars. And Bravo Ami for knowing when it is time to end – while the victory is still pure and sweet.
Thanks, Diane! Couldn’t have done it without you. Is there any job you DIDN’T do for AAQI?!
What will happen to unsold quilts?
Hopefully we will sell them all by the end of the year. Ah…here’s that link: http://www.alzquilts.org/quiltsforsale.html
Ami,
I can’t thank you and your crew enough for the years for work, sweat and love put into AAQI. We are with you to the end. Warm up those quilting fingers – You have earned time to quilt!
Thanks, Ann. I feel you all beside me.
Thank yoo Ami for your vision and AAQI’s success!!
Thanks for coming along for the ride. The quilt is the sum of all its stitches.
Bravo, Ami, on all you have accomplished! We will miss having the AAQI as our mission, but we truly understand the need to get back to a “real life”. It has been a wonderful ride and we can all be proud of the great things that have been done. We started as a team and we will finish strong as a team with an awesome coach and thousands of wonderful cheerleaders and supporters. AAQI ROCKS!!
Thank YOU, Beth. How many quilts have you registered?!!! Go TEAM!
We love you, respect you! It has been our individual and combined privilege to gather our little stitches in order to eclipse the darkness of Alzheimerʻs. Also, we have met wonderful brothers and sisters through AAQI, charged with the same vitality, compassion, creativity and simple helpfulness while sewing these little things. Who knew? What we did know, of course, was that the source of this momentum was your leadership. We felt your inspiration, which translated into the dedication of your assorted volunteers, quilters, buyers and researchers. You did good, Ami!! Beebe smiles on your effort.
Go to your room, dear! Go make quilts!
Such kind words, Nyima. Thank you for writing them. Group hug, everyone!
I am so sad to learn than AAQI is coming to an end. Ami and all the volunteers have done an amazing job. I am so proud to have been a part of it. I have a whole bunch of quilts started, so this is definitely incentive to get those finished. We need to hit that $1,000,000 mark! Thanks to everyone for everything they have done. Ami, I hope you enjoy your time to quilt. You deserve every minute of it!
Thanks Carol for your kind words and your amazing quilts.
I knew it was coming, I knew you would post it this morning, and I still cried! I cried because it, and you, and all of us are just plain awesome!!! We will have raised ONE MILLION DOLLARS for Alzheimer’s research funding!! What an amazing thing for anyone to do!
But we did it….. a small group of quilters grew and grew and grew into a virtual quilting army and we have made such strides..stitch by stitch..to raise awareness, to raise funding and all with the making of our small format art quilts!
It is a fabulous way to reach our goal of making a difference in the world and to do it through our own hearts and with our own hands! Bless you, Ami…it has been one heck of an awesome journey! But hey, we’re not there just yet…off to post the news and start another quilt!
Well, now you got my crying…. (sniff) Thanks for your kind words.
Why not use some of the funds to hire an admimistrator? I understand
but it is a shame to see it go!!
I’m afraid a paid administrator wouldn’t solve all the issues. There are so many core volunteers who are working lots and lots of hours. Who would have their job taken over by a paid administrator and who would continue to volunteer? There is an inequity there I’m just not comfortable with. Part of the reason AAQI has been so successful is because we aren’t like other charities in so many ways, one of which is that we are all volunteers.
Ami, this is the good news and the bad news. Good news is the $1,000,000 from all of your work. The bad news is don’t quit now. I look forward to the auctions each month and gosh I just might to have to start quilting. All I can say is THANKS for all your work, your sharing your mother’s Alzheimer’s trip and your being her caregiver with all of us. Your enthusiasm has inspired all of us to donate, buy and love the little quilts and believe it or not your support to all of us who have traveled this trip with our loved ones. Our family loves you!! Nancy
Thanks, Nancy!