EAST LOS ANGELES : Dance-A-Thon to Help AIDS Project

Organizers of Friday’s Eastside AIDS dance-a-thon hope to raise more than the $15,000 collected at last year’s event to fund treatment and prevention programs and raise Latinos’ awareness of the disease.

“The reality is that in our community, most people aren’t really aware of how much it is in the community with neighbors or people at work,” said Lupe Carreon, administrative assistant supervisor for the Milagros AIDS Project. “There’s so much of keeping it quiet. In terms of it being seen as part of the community, they still see it as a West Hollywood thing.”

Milagros, run by El Centro Human Services, has an active client list of about 300, with a growing number of women, Carreon said.

The fund-raiser will benefit Milagros and the Avance Human Services, which operates an AIDS telephone hot line for 12 Southern California counties. Most of those calls come from Los Angeles and the Eastside, said executive director Olivia G. Rodriguez.

Milagros offers several support groups for men, women and families, a food bank, home health care and case management and counseling.

The dance-a-thon will be held from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Friendship Auditorium, 3201 Riverside Drive, and will feature five hours of dance music. Music will be provided by D.J.’s Caribe Express, Claudette the Sexy DJ and Sound Service Co.

Participants need to collect $50 in pledges from friends, family or co-workers or contribute $50 at the door. Prizes will be awarded to those who collect the most money.

Information: (213) 726-2201.