National AIDS Memorial Receives $100,000 Grant from Quest Diagnostics to Bolster Community Volunteer Workdays

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics employees and executives joined more than 100 community volunteers at the National AIDS Memorial to announce a $100,000 grant to bolster the memorial's volunteer workday program in 2018.

The Quest Diagnostics grant, one of the largest received by the National AIDS Memorial, will support the memorial's Community Volunteer Workday program in 2018, help fund new equipment, plants, trees and shrubberies and support maintenance and hardscape improvements. The grant will also help underwrite the National AIDS Memorial World AIDS Day commemoration events on November 30 and December 1.

"We are grateful for the support of Quest Diagnostics, as this grant comes at a critical time in our efforts to tell the story of people who have died from AIDS and ensure their stories are known by future generations," said John Cunningham, Executive Director, National AIDS Memorial. "The community volunteer workdays are at the heart of our mission and this grant provides important funding to support keeping our 10-acre memorial a beautiful space for healing and remembrance."

Since 1991, nearly 40,000 volunteers have participated in more than 300 Community Volunteer Workdays at the National Aids Memorial, donating more than 200,000 volunteer hours and planting more than 10,000 trees, plants and shrubs. The sacred ground of the 10-acre, living memorial honors all who have confronted the tragic HIV/AIDS pandemic; those who have died, and those who have shared their struggle, kept the vigils and supported each other during their final hours.

"Quest Diagnostics has been a long-time supporter of the National AIDS Memorial and its mission and we are proud to expand our commitment through this grant," said Thomas Patrick Plewman, General Manager, IDI/General Health and Wellness, Quest Diagnostics. "The memorial is a special place where people from all around the world come to remember loved ones lost to AIDS, which is why we're proud to help maintain this national landmark and support the memorial's community activities."

Nearly 30 years ago, an original Quest Diagnostics company was the first to develop a test that identified the presence of HIV. As of 2014, an estimated 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV and less than half have ever been tested for the HIV virus. As a leading provider of diagnostics information services, Quest Diagnostics is dedicated to advancing disease management for the HIV community and raising the standards of care in HIV diagnostics and beyond. Whether a patient is dealing with HIV or another condition, Quest Diagnostics helps collaborate and provide accurate information so patients can make the best decisions for their health and well-being.

About the National AIDS Memorial:  The National AIDS Memorial is a dedicated space in the national landscape where millions of Americans touched directly or indirectly by AIDS can gather to heal, hope, and remember. The National AIDS Memorial, known as "the Grove," was created twenty-five years ago in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic as a place where those impacted by AIDS could both grieve and begin the process of healing. In 1996, legislation sponsored by U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi was signed into law by President Bill Clinton that elevated "the Grove" as this nation's sole federally-designated National AIDS Memorial. Today, nearly 40,000 individuals from around the world have contributed 200,000 volunteer hours to support the National AIDS Memorial and its mission to provide, in perpetuity, a place of remembrance so that the lives of people who died from AIDS are not forgotten and the story is known by future generations. For more information visit www.aidsmemorial.org, follow on Facebook @NationalAIDSMemorial and Twitter @AIDS_Memorial.

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SOURCE National AIDS Memorial