In an effort to give a little hope to children infected or affected with HIV or AIDS, Bermudians are being asked to dance.

On November 29 anyone and everyone is asked to come out and boogie for a good cause at the first World AIDS Day Dance party, organised by the Allan Vincent Smith Foundation.

At the Palm Reef Hotel, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., participants will be able to choose from any of the three music rooms which will play reggae, disco and soca. On the patio there will be country western and Texas line dancing.

To be admitted into the dance you just have to raise a minimum of $50 or more in pledges from your friends, family or co-workers and bring your completed pledge sheet(s) to the party.

Funds raised through the World AIDS Day Dance will help children in Bermuda whose parents are living with HIV -- or have died from AIDS -- to be provided with camp scholarships enabling them to attend summer camp programme specially designed for young people coping with the reality of AIDS.

Event organiser Geneva Humdy-Woodley said this is the first time Bermuda has ever done a large event to commemorate people who have died or living with AIDS and HIV.

"The objective of this event is to bring people who live on this Island together about AIDS and make them aware that it is here and if we don't do something it won't go away,'' Mrs. Humdy-Woodley said.

"We are doing this because we have over 200 kids here who have either lost a parent or both parents to AIDS and we have children here who are living with HIV and AIDS also. The funds raised from the event will provide us with money to send the kids away to a place called Camp Heartland, which was started five years ago for kids infected and affected by AIDS.'' Camp Heartland, based in Wisconsin, is a charitable, non-profit organisation which helps these children by providing recreational opportunities, support, and AIDS education.

Children make friends, have fun, and gain the confidence to overcome the isolation and misunderstanding they often face.

"In commemoration of our fifth year of providing education to Bermuda, we have planned a very special event that will help raise funds to make life a little easier for the little ones.

"We would like to have at least a 1000 people at the hotel. It is a pledged event and we are asking people to raise $50 or more. With that pledge they get in to the party, but what is really important is that this is benefiting children who have been affected by the AIDS epidemic.

"My objective is to have this event every year,'' Mrs. Humdy -Woodley said.

She added: "I care about this because I have children and if I don't fight AIDS for everyone then I am putting my children at risk and other people's at risk too.

"If someone wants to come but can't attend we would gladly take a contribution. Our dancers have pledge sheets and we are asking people to donate because they care about the epidemic.'' President of the Allan Vincent Smith Foundation, Joe Gibbons, adds: "This is our fifth anniversary year and we wanted to mark that with a special event.

"We wanted the event to be as broad-based as possible so members throughout our community would be comfortable attending; we had to make sure it would be affordable and fun for all ages.

"We then wanted to do something special so having come up with the theme of the dance party, which had never been done in Bermuda, we thought the idea of putting money towards benefiting Bermuda's children infected and affected with AIDS would be unique and that is where we came up with the Camp Heartland idea,'' he added.

"Many organisations tend to do black-tie events for specific audiences but we wanted everyone to participate, they can dress in their cool clothes, bring their friends and have a good evening because the nature of what we do touches everyone.'' "It all goes on simultaneously, there is something for everyone. Participants will get specially designed T-shirts and bandanas, it will be a great night with lots of activities.

"We will also have free ferry rides back to Hamilton and all the main clubs in Hamilton will let those who have attended the dance and have a special pass in with 50 percent off the admission price. So there is more fun for people who want to carry on partying after the dance party ends.''