All Dolled Up for AIDS Day

To commemorate World AIDS Day on Tuesday, a message of hope in the form of 500 dolls will be distributed to children in the U.S. and abroad who are infected or affected by the disease.

Sponsored by the Minority AIDS Consortium of Los Angeles County, the project grew out of chairwoman Cynthia Davis’ own love of dolls.

“I have been an avid collector for many years, and we all know nothing comforts a child like having a doll to cuddle when they are sad or afraid,” she said.

Handmade by volunteers, the dolls will be distributed in more than 33 countries, including Brazil, Uganda and South Africa. Foreign agencies receiving them, in turn, will send their own handmade dolls back to the U.S., with information about how HIV is affecting children in their country.

World AIDS Day ’98 is the start of a yearlong initiative aimed at those under the age of 25, who represent half of all new HIV infections in the United States, Davis said.

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A doll dedication ceremony will be held at noon Tuesday in the student lounge of the Charles R. Drew University School of Medicine and Science, 1621 E. 120th St., Los Angeles. Free. (310) 763-9746 to RSVP. Doll viewing, 9-11 a.m.