Homeaid Organization

Officials of the Building Industry Assn. of Orange County said Wednesday that the Huntington Beach Youth Shelter is one of their priority charitable projects for 1991. The BIA's HomeAid program, which helps build shelters for the homeless, is providing the work and material for renovating a picturesque old house in Central Park that will be used for the city's first shelter for homeless teen-agers.

HomeAid, a nonprofit organization that builds and renovates temporary homes for the homeless, recently announced that it made $480,000 in revenue from its 10th Annual Project Playhouse benefit held at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. This year's playhouses sold at prices ranging from $6,000 to $75,000, the highest bid received for Mulvaney & Co.'s Tom Sawyer's River House, designed by architect Richard Krantz.

A homeless and single mother at 24, Shelly Foster has never had her own place. She has lived with family and a now-former boyfriend. In June, she fled Las Vegas to Orange County, with two boxes of belongings and a baby on the way. Soon she will have more room than she could ever imagine at this stage in life.

HomeAid Orange County has been recognized as NonProfit of the Year for Emmanuel House, a Santa Ana shelter and supportive services for homeless single men and women with HIV/AIDS. It was chosen from among 17 projects by the Southern California Assn. of NonProfit Housing. The shelter provides 24 private rooms for patients and staff.

Sandy Condello recently received the Rainbow of Hope award by HomeAid Orange County, a nonprofit group that provides shelter for the temporarily homeless. Officials said the award recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding leadership in serving the county's homeless. Condello is the co-founder and executive director of Laura's House, a San Clemente-based walk-in center and emergency shelter with programs and services for victims of domestic violence.

For three years, HomeAid--a nonprofit agency that builds and renovates shelters for people who recently lost their homes--has raised funds by auctioning mock houses built by professional builders. An English Tudor-style flower shop, a lifeguard post, contemporary storybook cottages and riverboats designed for children's use will be auctioned off Nov. 11 at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. Typically, playhouses sell from $1,500 to $27,000.

About 2,300 walkers and runners made their way Sunday around Fashion Island in the "Run for Cover" races, sponsored by HomeAid and the Hard Rock Cafe to help the homeless of Orange County. Race organizers said the event raised about $75,000 for HomeAid, a 5-year-old nonprofit charity sponsored by Orange County builders. The event included three races: a 10K run, a 5K walk-run and a 1K run for children.

A Small Fortune: Project Playhouse '92, the Orange County Building Industry Assn.'s fund-raiser for its HomeAid homeless shelter program, was an unqualified success, raising nearly $85,000, project chairwoman Andrea Bertrand reports. Eleven playhouses built and donated by members of the county's home-building industry were sold in a charity auction Saturday at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

Golfers Help Homeless: Burrow Escrow's annual golf tournament last month raised $7,000 for the Building Industry Assn. of Orange County's HomeAid project. HomeAid is an industry-supported effort to provide housing for those who are temporarily homeless. Builders and other industry-related companies contribute time, materials and personnel to build, expand or refurbish shelters.

Officials of HomeAid Orange County, an Irvine-based organization that helps build temporary housing for those in need, hopes to raise public awareness about homelessness through a week of activities and fund-raising events. All week, people can donate clothing at any Orange County Fire Department station and drop off canned foods at the Costco store in Laguna Niguel. The group will hold an auction for nine toy houses at Fashion Island in Newport Beach on Saturday.

HomeAid Orange County will tour today the future site of the Emmanuel House, the first shelter in Southern California to be built specifically for homeless men and women with HIV and AIDS. HomeAid is a nonprofit organization that builds and renovates housing for the temporarily homeless. The 14,335-square-foot shelter on Garfield Avenue, currently under construction, will also provide managed health care, job training and placement for 21 men and women.

Sandy Condello recently received the Rainbow of Hope award by HomeAid Orange County, a nonprofit group that provides shelter for the temporarily homeless. Officials said the award recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding leadership in serving the county's homeless. Condello is the co-founder and executive director of Laura's House, a San Clemente-based walk-in center and emergency shelter with programs and services for victims of domestic violence.

The models who took to the runway at a recent charity fashion show were a bit fuller and walked more rigidly than standard supermodels. A few looked as if they were walking the plank, not a ramp in the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Tennis Club. Still, they held their heads high, looked great in their clothes and managed to avoid their deepest fear--falling off the stage. Not bad for a bunch of amateurs. Most of the 20 models were members of the Orange Coast Assn.

A homeless and single mother at 24, Shelly Foster has never had her own place. She has lived with family and a now-former boyfriend. In June, she fled Las Vegas to Orange County, with two boxes of belongings and a baby on the way. Soon she will have more room than she could ever imagine at this stage in life.

Construction was completed Thursday at Casa Teresa, a 12-bed crisis pregnancy shelter for expectant mothers who have no where else to turn. Women can begin moving in two weeks into the 3,000-square-foot home on West Maple Avenue, where they will take classes on prenatal care, parenting and job training to help prepare them for motherhood, officials said. "It's like a dream come true," said Jim Richeson, Casa Teresa's executive director.

The landscape architects, interior designers and builders were making dozens of last-minute decisions. Should they put flagstones on the walkway between the house and the driveway? Does the Adirondack chair look better on the porch or in the yard? Would gold trim on the flower box complement or overwhelm the green stripe already there? All this fussing for playhouses.

From the outside, the high-priced cars parked at the Crazy Horse Steak House on Saturday afternoon made it appear as if a convention of BMW and Mercedes-Benz dealers was taking place at the club. But inside, more than 250 people gathered for an event benefiting people on the opposite end of the economic scale. Paying $150 a ticket, the luxury-car crowd packed the Santa Ana venue to hear singer, songwriter and actor Kris Kristofferson perform to benefit Orange County's homeless.

It was a day for corporate citizens to trade in their leather briefcases for leather jackets and exchange their Ford Thunderbirds for Harley-Davidsons. At the third annual Bikers for the Homeless ride Friday, more than two dozen business executives and other bikers pulled out of a Santa Ana motorcycle shop en route to Nevada to raise money for charity.

Michael Lennon is executive director of HomeAid Orange County, a six-year-old nonprofit organization that builds and renovates shelters for agencies that serve the homeless. HomeAid, one of the sponsors of Homeless Awareness Week, was founded by the Orange County Building Industry Assn. in July, 1989. It has generated $6 million in donations and constructed facilities for 400 of the county's 1,200 beds for the homeless.