His will and determination were strong and Ronald gave to people what was so freely given to him: love and understanding. He received his certificate, and even though he only worked as a counselor for a short time, he touched many people’s hearts. Ronald went to Erie Community College for two years to become an Alcoholism counselor. In 1986 Ronald began to turn his life around and became active in a 12-step program. But early on, drugs and alcohol led his life, and for many years his life did not have any direction. Ronald Pierce started out in life knowing that he didn’t want to be forced into anything, and that if he did something, it would be of his own free will. Bonnie died at home with her family and fiancée present. She became an active member of AIDS Community Services’ speaker’s bureau, and openly shared her experiences with audiences of all ages. After her diagnosis, she resumed her education and learned to drive a car, two things she always wanted to do. She believed in living with AIDS, not dying of AIDS. Her mother remarked, “Bonnie you sure have grown with AIDS…oh, I mean age.” Bonnie answered, “No mother, you were right the first time, I have grown with AIDS.” Her panel shows a flower in bloom to represent how Bonnie grew and blossomed in spite of her AIDS diagnosis.īonnie took charge of her life.
One day Bonnie told a story about a conversation she had with her mother about all of the changes in Bonnie’s life. During her three years with the agency, she became friends with many staff and volunteers, who made this panel to honor her memory. She was in her mid-twenties when she died of AIDS. Click on the names below to see each fabric memorial.īonnie was a volunteer at AIDS Community Services. It is hard to measure the healing power of these beautiful creations, but it is obvious during these modern quilting bees that the process of story telling and sharing memories is very meaningful to those involved. Through the years, agency volunteers and staff have helped many family members, friends and colleagues make fabric memorials for their loved ones who have died from AIDS.
They approached AIDS Community Services’ Director of Client Services about their idea, and the Mending of the Hearts Project was born. When the panel was finished, the group decided that they could help other people make fabric memorials for their loved ones. While working on it, they shared stories, and realized that doing so eased their grief and anger about the premature death of their young friend. In 1985, a small group of friends gathered at AIDS Community Services to make a fabric collage in honor of a dear friend they had lost to AIDS.
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