By Tom Weber, KMWU
St. Louis, MO – Part of the AIDS quilt will be on display today at the University of Missouri-St. Louis as part of World AIDS Day, which was yesterday.
The quilt started in the mid 1980's as a way to honor victims of the disease with a sewn three-by-six foot panel.
Organizers say today's display at the UM-St. Louis Millennium Center will be the biggest AIDS quilt display in the area since 1994. It will be at the center through Wednesday.
Today there are more than 44,000 panels nationwide, which represent less than 10% the total number of Americans who have died of AIDS-related diseases.
More than a hundred restaurants in the area will also donate at least 25% of tomorrow night's proceeds to the group St. Louis Effort for AIDS.