Dec. 6 Walk to Benefit AIDS Support Groups

A benefit walk next month will raise funds for Women at Risk, an organization that runs a support group in Hermosa Beach for HIV-positive women from the South Bay and surrounding area.

The Dec. 6 walk is the sixth of its kind organized by Aiding People With AIDS, a nonprofit group based in Santa Monica. About 400 walkers participated last year.

This year’s 3 3/4-mile walk in Santa Monica will raise funds for two Los Angeles-area groups working with HIV and AIDS patients. One group, Women at Risk, was formed by HIV-positive women to help other women and educate the public. Based in Santa Monica, it has organized three support groups for women diagnosed as having HIV or AIDS, including the group in Hermosa Beach.

Also benefiting from the walk is Rue’s House, a Los Angeles-area shelter for women and their children diagnosed as having AIDS or HIV-related illness.

“Our primary goal is to give to organizations that are fledgling, that are new,” said Evelyn Mandel of Santa Monica, the founder of Aiding People with AIDS. One previous walk raised $36,000 for AIDS-related work, she said.

Those participating in the walk ask friends, relatives and co-workers to sponsor them for at least $10 apiece. More information is available from Aiding People with AIDS, (213) 243-9410.