AIDS Group Helps Children Worldwide

Joe Cristina is HIV-positive. He has lost two partners to AIDS.

Instead of derailing the Mattel executive’s life, the disease turned him into a crusader.

In a little more than a decade, Cristina has helped to raise more than $18 million for the needs of children whose lives have been affected by AIDS.

Recently, the group he founded in 1993, Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, began its first international fundraising effort, aimed at helping AIDS orphans in Latin America.

“I think we’ve really touched the lives of tens of thousands of children,” Cristina said.

Focusing on children made sense for a guy in the toy and children’s entertainment business, he said.

Cristina knew that organizations already existed to raise money for pediatric AIDS research. But he saw an unfilled niche in another area: funding small, grass-roots community groups dedicated to the day-to-day needs of children who have HIV and AIDS or whose family members did.

“What they needed most was a really strong fundraising organization that would be high-profile. They were really not able to fundraise effectively for themselves,” said Cristina, whose background as a toy executive helped bring lucrative sponsorships for his cause from his longtime employer, Mattel, as well as other major players in the children’s entertainment industry, including Nickelodeon, Toys “R” Us and Target.

Each year, the foundation puts on Dream Halloween, a splashy, big-ticket event now held in three cities. The Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport is transformed into a Halloween fantasy world, with houses where children can go trick-or-treating, characters such as Barney and Barbie and Spider-Man, and celebrities.

Dream Halloween brings in $1 million or more annually, thanks largely to the corporate sponsorships. But the foundation also relies on individual donations, said its executive director, Catherine A. Brown.

Money raised through that event and others is distributed in grants that range from $2,000 to $25,000. Who gets the money is decided by a panel of 30 experts, who review applications each year. They’re given out to nonprofit organizations that provide for the basic, medical, emotional, social and recreational needs of children with HIV or affected by AIDS. The foundation also supports camp programs, where children can relax without fear of discrimination.

“We consider bringing joy and fun to the lives of children an important part of our mission,” Brown said.

Last month, on World AIDS Day, the foundation announced its first grants for 2005. They totaled more than $600,000 and went to 58 organizations in 22 states. The money went to support groups, organizations that distribute necessities like toothbrushes and diapers, programs offering art and equine therapy.

In Los Angeles, the foundation awarded $20,000 to Amigos Sin Barreras/Friends Without Barriers, a South Bay nonprofit that runs a food pantry four times a month for 300 people with HIV and AIDS. Many of its clients have children; the pantry’s basic supplies and food reach 96 of them.

“This is the third time the foundation has helped us out financially,” said its executive director, Alma Martinez. “I’m glad that they trust that we’re doing what we need to be doing for the children.”

Near Dodger Stadium, a group home for women with HIV and AIDS and their children also has gotten a hand. In addition to regularly getting children’s toys to distribute for the holidays, Casa Madona, run by the Serra Project, received a grant to refurbish its backyard play area. The children there got new rubber matting to play on, new chains on their swing set, and a new tower playhouse with a slide. The grant also paid for plants and new grass, and for a picnic bench where mothers can sit while they watch their children play.

The grant process went smoothly and quickly. The money came through about 10 days after the Serra Project applied, said its executive director, Sue McGinnis.

“It’s really nice,” McGinnis said. “They’re really strong partners in care.”