On-line Quilters make a statement... What : A group of quilts on the subject of child abuse, violence against children and child abuse prevention, available for display at your event during 1999 and 2000. Why : We feel this project is a way in which we can express our sadness and anger about what is happening to all too many children, as well as reaching out to others and raising awareness and hopefully action. We also wanted to express hope that the pain of child abuse can be healed. Several of the participants have experienced abuse themselves or have spouses or relatives that were abused as children. Some are teachers or people who work with abused women and children Sponsored by: Prevent Child Abuse New York	How it started.... The following call for entries was issued 6 April 1998 to QuiltArt, an online mailing list dedicated to Art Quilts. This is first call for a project I've been mulling over for awhile. I have always been very angered and pained by reports of child abuse and violence against children. While a paramedic (in a former life) I was involved in a case of a toddler killed by mom's boyfriend. Very hard. Very life changing. Since then, each time I hear about another case of abuse or neglect or see cases of violence directed at children, I wonder - what could *I* do? In the past couple weeks, we have seen another devastating case of children being violent against other children and locally, another 3 year old who died after a day of brutal violence following long term abuse at the hands of his mother, and her boyfriend and friend/landlord. Enough. I have to do something. So here's my thought. A group of quilts dealing with the subject of child abuse, violence against children and/or the prevention of the same. Mary Beth Goodman And Now.... What Can YOU do? USE these quilts at your local events and activities. Find places to show them to the public, to raise awareness of child abuse and the need for prevention. Use the quilts in your community as a focal point in a discussion about abuse, prevention and violence against children. It is intended that these quilts travel widely during the two years that they are on loan from the quilters.	What happened next... An outpouring of email from quilters who wanted to make a statement! A discussion about why there was a need to make a quilt on the subject of child abuse and violence against children and the need to "get the word out" to others about preventing child abuse. During the spring and summer and as the deadline for finishing the quilts approached, there were reports about ideas and efforts and progress about the quilts. Although the background of the quilters and their relationship to abuse was varied, the commitment was strong - to make a statement against violence and abuse. A Project of On-line Quilters and sponsored by PCANY Contact: Mary Beth Goodman Quilt Curator mgoodman@albany.net or Joan Fuess Prevent Child Abuse NY JFuess4900@aol.com For info about PCANY: 518-445-1273 or 1-800-CHILDREN