Birmingham HIV Memorial Hits Fundraising Target Thanks To Huge Airbnb Donation

Birmingham HIV Memorial

Global property letting company, Airbnb, has donated £30,000 to Birmingham AIDS & HIV Memorial (BAHM), to support its campaign to erect a memorial sculpture in Birmingham’s Southside.

In response to Airbnb’s generous donation, BAHM has reached their required target of £210,000. Now the memorial has been given the green light to be built this winter.

Now on track to be unveiled on 1 December, which will coincide with World AIDS Day. The six-metre-high sculpture will be permanently positioned in the new Hippodrome Square, in Birmingham.

A cause that is close to the hearts of the team at Airbnb, the business chose to donate to BAHM’s efforts following a partnership with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Airbnb launched The Airbnb Birmingham 2022 Legacy Pledge to preserve, celebrate and showcase the cultural gems that make the West Midlands unique, including a commitment to helping complete the BAHM memorial sculpture.

Many businesses, charities and organisations across the region have pledged their support for this sculpture.

Birmingham City Council contributed £25,000 in kind and Birmingham Pride gifted £17,000. Other key supporters were Galliard Apsley Partnership donating £40,000 and Court Collaboration pledging £20,000.

The sculpture was designed by local businessman Garry Jones. Inspired by Channel 4’s hit series, ‘It’s a Sin’, and his own personal experience of the AIDS epidemic. He wanted to establish a dedicatory space in Birmingham to remember those loved and lost to HIV. With support from co-founders Andrew King and Phil Oldershaw, he started to develop plans for a memorial sculpture.

The innovative memorial, fabricated by Luke Perry, will feature two entwined red-ribbon hearts positioned to represent an ‘embrace’. As it weathers, one of the heart ribbons will be left to corrode and rust, representing the millions lost to HIV; meanwhile, the other will be painted red to symbolise those individuals currently living longer and healthier lives with the virus.

To learn more about the Birmingham HIV and AIDS Memorial, you can visit their website at: www.bahm.co.uk

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