BIKERS TO DRAW FOR WOMENS' CAUSE.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer

Under the heat of the summer sun, members of the Modified Motorcycle Association will celebrate Christmas in July with a poker game and ride today to raise money for a Simi Valley home for unwed mothers.

The group's 17th annual Poker Run will benefit Sarah's House Maternity Home, a Christian-based charity, by collecting money, food, baby items, towels and blankets.

Sarah's House officials said they hadn't heard about the group before it decided to make the home the beneficiary of this year's fund-raiser. A pastor and former Sarah's House board member also is affiliated with the motorcycle club, and he brought the two groups together.

``So often, people tend to look at a group and categorize them,'' said Cathy Givens, executive director of the maternity home. ``But these people, they have wonderful hearts. They're involved with the community, and they are just as concerned about young people and the community as anyone else.''

While the association was founded in 1973 to promote motorcycle safety and protect riders' rights, it holds the annual benefit event to support local charities.

The Poker Run will begin at Season Ticket, 5835 Los Angeles Ave., and conclude with a dinner, games and a drawing at the Simi Valley Moose Lodge, 4260 Alamo St.

Registration is from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and costs $8 for poker and a hamburger dinner. Participants may also pay $4 for the dinner only and $5 for poker play only.

Sarah's House is a Christian-based home for unwed mothers-to-be 18 and older. Residents stay at the home throughout their pregnancies and up to a month after the baby is born. Givens said the women, who must work or go to school during their stay, are taught lessons on parenting and managing finances.

The money raised will go toward opening a second, transitional home where women and their babies can stay after they leave Sarah's House.