10,000 Take Part in Walk to Raise Funds for AIDS : Health: Participation exceeds that in last year’s event, but the $326,000 collection is smaller. County’s bankruptcy is blamed.

Jean Johnson Vogel carried two banners in Sunday’s ninth annual AIDS Walk Orange County.

One was in memory of her son, Craig Johnson, who died of the disease seven years ago at age 30. The other was in honor of Tim Blake, who had acted as her son’s confidant and “buddy” during the young man’s last days, only to succumb to AIDS himself just last week.

“People don’t understand how large the epidemic is,” said Vogel, 59, of Newport Beach. “It is affecting people’s lives. This is everybody’s problem.”

Vogel was one of an estimated 10,000 people who asserted that point by making Sunday’s 6.2-mile walk around the UC Irvine campus. While the attendance was about 1,000 more than last year, the event raised $54,000 less.

Organizers blamed the county’s financial crisis for decreasing the fund-raiser’s proceeds from $380,000 to $326,000.

“When the economy gets skittish, one of the first things that people cut is gifts,” said event organizer Joann Ruden.

But Ruden expressed optimism about the event’s future.

“We are thrilled with the participation,” Ruden said, “and as the economy rebounds, so will we. If people brought in less money this year, they’ll bring more in next year.”

Among the participants were mothers pushing baby carriages, joggers in shorts and teen-agers on in-line skates. Planet Hollywood, the Santa Ana restaurant, sent its own female drill team in white tights with pink sequined mini-skirts and silver sequined capes.

Hundreds of walkers rocked to the sounds of a mobile disc jockey whose speakers lined the sidewalk at one point along the way.

Steve Mosley, a teacher from La Jolla, said he was participating in his first AIDS walk after experiencing the death of a godson from the disease last year.

“You can hear about AIDS,” he said, “but until you see somebody dying, it doesn’t really make an impact.”

And Jeffrey Greenspan, 46, of Laguna Beach said the 1993 death of his 16-year companion, Gary M. Cargrove, had changed his life forever.

“He was real mellow, real honest, real religious,” Greenspan said of the man he called Mike. “You don’t know something until it strikes home. Mike died in my arms and something hit me. Hey, this could have been me.”

Returning to the university’s Mesa Court Field after their long trek, the AIDS walkers were treated to soft drinks, salad, bread spread with cream cheese, pasta and chocolate chip cookies.

“I loved the exercise, loved the walk and it was a good cause,” said Vel Brown, 41, an Irvine mother who made the trip on foot with her 10-year-old daughter, Megan, who was on in-line skates. “We raised a little money.”

“Next year,” Megan added, “I’m going to teach her to skate.”