Help us create a COVID Memorial in Washington DC
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The COVID Memorial project launched in March 2020 to share the stories of Americans lost to coronavirus, as told by the loved ones who knew them best. Our goal is to make sure that everyone who is lost to COVID is remembered, and honored as more than a number.
The memorial has put those stories together into a slideshow that has been projected on buildings across the country, and covered in news outlets like The Washington Post and NPR's All Things Considered. Now we are raising money to create a long-term COVID Memorial in Washington DC this fall.
We envision a multi-week memorial to the more than 175,000 Americans who have died to COVID, as well as a call to action for our government to take public health measures to protect the public from more needless loss. We are searching for a space in downtown DC where we could project stories and photos at all hours to make this memorial accessible and visible to all.
The project will be art directed and implemented by Robin Bell, an award-winning editor, video journalist, and multimedia artist based in Washington DC, who has the experience and tools to make this unmissable. We will invite members of Congress and the press, and livestream to the world.
COVID Memorial is an entirely volunteer-run project. The money we raise will be used exclusively for our expenses, which include:
- Projector, equipment rental, and transportation
- Support materials for volunteers (snacks, drinks, etc.)
- Livestream capabilities and tools
- Help with reaching mainstream press
We hope to hit our funding goal by the end of September so that we have time to make this project a living, growing reality. Anything above our goal we raise will go towards keeping the memorial up longer. We'll send all our supporters updates along the way to provide maximum transparency and accountability.
Here is why family members of loved ones lost to COVID are supporting this project:
"All too often when discussing COVID, numbers and statistics get tossed around. But when speaking in mathematical terms, the humanity of the devastation is lost. My father, and the thousands of others who have died, were not a number. They were people we loved, our support systems, people we are struggling to live without. This COVID Memorial Project is important because it gives those numbers a face. For those of us mourning, the numbers are irrelevant. The world needs to see the people we have lost, and perhaps taste the void we are experiencing."
- Elizabeth Jaeger, daughter of Gary Jaeger
"For most of us the grieving process was anything but normal, leaving us with very little if any closure with no way to properly grieve, in particular for people like myself where more than one family member struggled with the virus. Too busy on the phone with my brother, advocating for our mother who was fighting for her life, the same week my father was buried. I wake up every morning and cry. Sadly too many downplay what we have and still are going through, including the most hurtful of all by referring to what’s happening as a hoax devised for political gain. Every time I hear the words, whatever progress I've made with the grieving process becomes undone.
An organized memorial would put names and faces to the numbers. It would serve as a reminder that this happened and is still happening. More than that, it will provide the recognition our loved ones so richly deserved. as well as very badly needed closure to their families left adrift, unable to mourn in their traditional way."
- Betsy Utnick, daughter of Sheldon Polan
"I think it’s important to create a memorial because our loved ones are the “lost.” Dying alone, isolated, without in many cases the ability to have a funeral or even a comforting hug...our loved ones deserved so much more. A memorial would serve to remember those who died alone and forgotten, like my mother. "
- Bonney Bielen, daughter of Sarah (Sally) Bielen
"The constantly increasing number of deaths do not tell the story of Covid 19. Each number designates a person whose life was lost. Those lives deserve to be acknowledged in a memorial like this. My dad's life mattered. I want him to be remembered. I want him to be more than a number. That is why this memorial is important."
- Janeen Watson,
To submit a story to the COVID Memorial, just visit covidmemorial.online/submit
The memorial has put those stories together into a slideshow that has been projected on buildings across the country, and covered in news outlets like The Washington Post and NPR's All Things Considered. Now we are raising money to create a long-term COVID Memorial in Washington DC this fall.
We envision a multi-week memorial to the more than 175,000 Americans who have died to COVID, as well as a call to action for our government to take public health measures to protect the public from more needless loss. We are searching for a space in downtown DC where we could project stories and photos at all hours to make this memorial accessible and visible to all.
The project will be art directed and implemented by Robin Bell, an award-winning editor, video journalist, and multimedia artist based in Washington DC, who has the experience and tools to make this unmissable. We will invite members of Congress and the press, and livestream to the world.
COVID Memorial is an entirely volunteer-run project. The money we raise will be used exclusively for our expenses, which include:
- Projector, equipment rental, and transportation
- Support materials for volunteers (snacks, drinks, etc.)
- Livestream capabilities and tools
- Help with reaching mainstream press
We hope to hit our funding goal by the end of September so that we have time to make this project a living, growing reality. Anything above our goal we raise will go towards keeping the memorial up longer. We'll send all our supporters updates along the way to provide maximum transparency and accountability.
Here is why family members of loved ones lost to COVID are supporting this project:
"All too often when discussing COVID, numbers and statistics get tossed around. But when speaking in mathematical terms, the humanity of the devastation is lost. My father, and the thousands of others who have died, were not a number. They were people we loved, our support systems, people we are struggling to live without. This COVID Memorial Project is important because it gives those numbers a face. For those of us mourning, the numbers are irrelevant. The world needs to see the people we have lost, and perhaps taste the void we are experiencing."
- Elizabeth Jaeger, daughter of Gary Jaeger
"For most of us the grieving process was anything but normal, leaving us with very little if any closure with no way to properly grieve, in particular for people like myself where more than one family member struggled with the virus. Too busy on the phone with my brother, advocating for our mother who was fighting for her life, the same week my father was buried. I wake up every morning and cry. Sadly too many downplay what we have and still are going through, including the most hurtful of all by referring to what’s happening as a hoax devised for political gain. Every time I hear the words, whatever progress I've made with the grieving process becomes undone.
An organized memorial would put names and faces to the numbers. It would serve as a reminder that this happened and is still happening. More than that, it will provide the recognition our loved ones so richly deserved. as well as very badly needed closure to their families left adrift, unable to mourn in their traditional way."
- Betsy Utnick, daughter of Sheldon Polan
"I think it’s important to create a memorial because our loved ones are the “lost.” Dying alone, isolated, without in many cases the ability to have a funeral or even a comforting hug...our loved ones deserved so much more. A memorial would serve to remember those who died alone and forgotten, like my mother. "
- Bonney Bielen, daughter of Sarah (Sally) Bielen
"The constantly increasing number of deaths do not tell the story of Covid 19. Each number designates a person whose life was lost. Those lives deserve to be acknowledged in a memorial like this. My dad's life mattered. I want him to be remembered. I want him to be more than a number. That is why this memorial is important."
- Janeen Watson,
To submit a story to the COVID Memorial, just visit covidmemorial.online/submit
Organizer
COVID Memorial
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC
