B.W. COOK -- The Crowd

The Guilds of the Orange County Performing Arts Center are in the

final stages of preparation for their upcoming fall fashion show and

luncheon to be held Oct. 11 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Irvine.

Nordstrom at South Coast Plaza is producing the fashion show, which

attracts an enormous turnout of local support for the Center. Rosemarie

Kramer, public relations chair of The Guilds, reports that this year’s

event may be the most exciting ever.

The massive undertaking is being chaired by Patrice Poidmore, who has

been a major guild activist, helping to raise countless thousands of

dollars for the Center. Tickets are still available and are priced at $75

per person.

Call Poidmore at (714) 280-0385 for reservations and information.

* * *

Bob Goen, the co-host of television’s long-running syndicated show

“Entertainment Tonight,” volunteered his time and his spirit to help

sponsor the upcoming Memory Walk. Organized by the Alzheimer’s Assn. of

Orange County, the Oct. 6 Memory Walk will pull together some 6,000

walkers to help raise a goal of $600,000 to support the more than 50,000

Alzheimer’s patients and their families living in Orange County.

Goen comes to the cause through his father, who fought Alzheimer’s

disease, as well as his mother’s inspiring support that led him to use

his celebrity status to make a difference.

Meg Waters, walk chair, challenges the local crowd with her Memory

Walk slogan: “One hundred dollars in pledges from you makes a

million-dollar difference in Orange County.”

The walk will be held at the Irvine Spectrum Center, and Waters hopes

that she can turn the $600,000 goal into a million-dollar fund-raiser

with enough locals committing a $100 donation to the event.

For more information, call (714) 283-1984, Ext. 247.

* * *

It’s known as Taller San Jose, which is Spanish for St. Joseph’s

Workshop. Founded six years ago by Sister Eileen McNerney, the

organization is devoted to fighting drugs, violence and gangs in Orange

County.

Sister Eileen, frustrated over young people in society, was motivated

to find a way to offer troubled youth vocational training that would give

them the job skills to turn their lives around.

She began with simple wood shop classes, and today her program is

known for teaching students to make magnificent handcrafted wood benches

that sell for as much as $1,500 each. Her program has become so

successful that it is now able to offer computer classes, certified

nurse’s assistant training, high school diploma equivalent training and

testing, job placement counseling and more.

“It costs taxpayers $21,000 to house someone in jail, and in the same

amount of time it costs $1,400 to put a student through our program,

teaching them job skills and enabling them to find employment,” say

Taller San Jose organizers.

Sister Eileen and her staff are especially proud of their work with

gang members. They report great success in helping youth get off of the

streets and onto a responsible path. At 6 p.m. Sept. 8 in the historic

courtyard of Mission San Juan Capistrano, Taller San Jose will hold a

fund-raising event called “Light Up A Life.”

The organization hopes to raise an ambitious $350,000 to fund its

programs throughout the upcoming year. A silent and live auction will

assist in this fund-raising goal, with major donors including British

Airways, Toyota, Bosch Tools and Turnip Rose Catering.

Tickets to the event are $125 per person and may be reserved by

calling Amber Cash at (714) 543-5105, Ext. 107.

Sister Eileen reports that major support from the Newport-Mesa

community helps to make a significant difference in the lives of

disadvantaged youth all over Orange County.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.