New York City - "See the Children Through the Trees," an exhibition and auction benefiting American AIDS orphans and parentless kids though the work of Health People will be on display at the gallery at the Conde Nast Building at 4 Times Square (42nd Street and Broadway) through October 15. Featuring museum quality artwork focused on the theme of trees, it presents an intriguing range of work that conjures the many meanings - and absorbing images of nature.

Organized by the founder of Health People (the auction's beneficiary), and Sag Harbor resident Chris Norwood, who spent over a year organizing the event with the help of her many friends in the East End art community, works range from famed landscape artist April Gornik's "The Woods" to Ross Bleckner's abstracted leaves in "Early Every Morning;" from Milton Glaser's blazing "Red Trees" to an original signed panel from Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury" (which takes a sterner view toward trees) to Walter Channing's eight-foot sculpture in which a natural tree trunk seems to "whirl" to the sky. Other prominent artists participating include Edwina Sandys, Jean Holabird, Steve Miller, Larry B. Wright, Michael Knigin, Cuca Romley, Joan Kraisky, Steve Maciw, Neke Carson, Christophe von Hohenberg, Suzanne Anker, Nick Patten, David Prentice, Michelle D'Oyley, Elizabeth Meyer, Cheryl Warwick, Susan Shatter, Steve Hudak, Alan Turner, Susan Hall, Bill Ciccariello, Matthew Hamblem, Carolina von Humboldt and Charles Yoder.

"Red Trees" by artist Milton Glaser.

The exhibit may be seen daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with bidding in a silent auction until Thursday, Oct. 15. Also up for auction are unique celebrity "leaf" autographs from John Updike, Dolly Parton, Michael Bloomberg, Lauren Bacall, Carl Bernstein and many others.

The exhibition will culminate with a gala live auction from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Conde Nast Building on Thursday, Oct. 15 which will honor April Gornik with Health People's first Leadership in Art and Civic Society Award. Also slated to be honored that evening at the cocktail reception/auction are Julia Gruen, Executive Director of the Keith Haring Foundation. Gruen started working with Keith Haring in 1984 and has headed the Haring Foundation since the artist's death in 1990. The Haring Foundation honors the artist's legacy and vision by helping organizations that assist children and that serve people with AIDS. Ed Martin, Martin is the Director of International Insights at the Hershey Company and Director of Pause to Support a Cause, an innovative new business philanthropy initiative, involving major corporations around the world, which links charities and nonprofits to the $18.9 billion market research industry; and Tomas Rivera, a graduate of Health People's Kids-Helping-Kids Mentoring Program will receive the Youth Leadership Award. Rivera recently returned from being stationed with the U.S. Army in Iraq and is now a pre-med student planning to help his community.

Gornik's "The Woods," in a signed and numbered limited edition lithograph exclusively printed for the benefit is available at www.healthpeople.org for the pre-publication price of $800 and for $1,000 after October 15.

For more information go to www.healthpeople.org or call 718-585-8585, ext. 237.

April Gornik to receive recognition award.

Founded in 1990 by Norwood, its executive director, the organization began as a women's HIV/AIDS peer education program teaching women most affected by the epidemic to become leaders in fighting the disease. Men soon asked to join Health People and urged by sick and dying parents to help their children. Health People developed the groundbreaking Kids-Helping-Kids Mentoring Program which trains older teens with sick or missing parents to be mentors for younger children in the same difficult situations.

"Health People's original impetus was to make sure that children whose families have been afflicted or even lost to HIV/AIDS have a deeply committed society there to help" says Gornik. She continues, "With more and more American children becoming parentless, Health People abundantly deserves my and others' support to go forward with an unique mentoring program, in which kids learn to help other kids, and that is proven to really help children in these difficult circumstances."

Tickets for the cocktail reception with the artists is free.