NEWPORT BEACH, CA (August 31, 2004)

Geppetto's Workshop HomeAid's Project Playhouse 2003 Builder: Pardee Homes Architect: Bassenian/Lagoni Architects

Claiborne HomeAid's Project Playhouse 2003 Builder: Pulte Homes Architect: Urban Arena Landscape Architecture & Planning

It's time to mark your calendars for Orange County's premier family event from September 18-October 23rd when the world of make believe comes alive at Fashion Island. This is the special time of year when imaginations soar as the Children & Families Commission of Orange County presents Project Playhouse 2004, benefiting HomeAid Orange County – the Building Industry Association's nonprofit organization that builds and renovates shelters for the homeless throughout the county.

Every playhouse season, HomeAid's top California builder teams combine the imagination of childhood and the art of the playhouse production and take it to another level. As you might have guessed, these elaborate playhouses aren't just slapped together with cardboard and crazy glue, they have been designed by builders and architects, that every year manage to make these kid-sized dream homes more amazing than the last.

Many designs include today's kid-tested, high-tech play stations, televisions and sound equipment along with unstructured play areas inviting all who enter to explore the possibilities. Your children and grandchildren will discover playhouses in every conceivable design and concept sure to keep them mesmerized for hours of inventive play…and they are made large enough so that the adults can join in on the fun!

Approximately 8 feet wide by 10 feet tall, these unique playhouses fully furnished by some of California's top interior designers, feature quality construction and materials such as Italian marble, mahogany and stone, with all materials and labor donated by architects, builders, trade partners, suppliers and building industry associates.

Among the twelve playhouses on display, is a timely entry in the form of a miniature White House being submitted by K. Hovnanian Companies of California, Inc. with architectural design provided by M.J. Knitter and Associates.

"When we began giving thought to our playhouse theme the election year concept quickly came to the collective minds of our committee," said Electra Poag, of K. Hovnanian who went on to say, "Most boys and girls fantasize about becoming president, so it seemed a natural for us to provide a venue where fertile imaginations can conjure presidential dreams was a great idea, thus the kid-size White House was born."

Like the K. Hovnanian entry, each of the 2004 imaginative playhouses is first rate with extraordinary attention given to detail and craftsmanship rivaling some of the nation's most unique custom homes. With past sales ranging between $6,000 and $75,000 – selling for an average of $20,000 – these playhouses if built without pro bono donations, would cost between a whopping $50,000 and $100,000 to build!

The first event of HomeAid's six-week exhibit, is the Project Playhouse Open House, a family event at Fashion Island from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on opening day, Saturday, September 18, 2004. Open House is the only time throughout the event the public will be able to go inside these fabulous playhouses. On Sunday, Sept. 19 through Sat., October 23, 2004, the Project Playhouse Village Tours will begin on Sunday, September 19th and be open throughout the event on Saturdays and Sundays only, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost is a $5 donation.

To acquire one of these whimsical playhouses, be on hand October 23rd for Project Playhouse's Public Auction Party and make your bid. The auction will be held at Fashion Island in a festive tent near Bloomingdale's from 5:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Tickets are $40 and include dinner and entertainment. If you would like to bid, but cannot attend, bidding packets are available by visiting www.projectplayhouse.org or call (949) 553-9510.

Just north of Orange County, HomeAid Los Angeles/Ventura is presenting a separate and exciting Project Playhouse event from Labor Day weekend through October 17th with 10 playhouses on display at dual venues; the Oaks Shopping Center, Thousand Oaks and Valencia Town Center, Valencia both presented from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Los Angeles/Ventura playhouses go up for bid October 17th at the House of Blues on Sunset Strip in Hollywood. For information on the Los Angeles event, please call (818) 874-9852 or visit www.projectplayhouse.com.

The proceeds garnered from both HomeAid Chapters will benefit homeless families who – surprising to most – comprise the fastest growing numbers within the homeless population. These families want to provide for themselves and their loved ones, but because of the high costs of housing and other factors such as crisis pregnancy; domestic violence; mental disabilities; job loss or catastrophic illness; end up on the streets, in cars, or in seedy motels.

You may be surprised to learn that on any given night in America as many as one million men, women and children live on the streets, most never dreaming they would be without shelter. In Orange County alone there are over 35,000 homeless men, women and children, most of them the working poor, willing to earn a living, but unable to provide for their families when faced with today's high cost of living. They are often invisible when standing in plain view as many of us turn away from the truth in the eyes of the homeless looking back at us. They are someone's mother or daughter; father or son; friend or neighbor; and were once children themselves conjuring dreams of their own.

HomeAid – tasked with the mission of helping to alleviate this growing problem – looks to its signature fundraiser, Project Playhouse as its primary source for generating awareness and revenue. Through your involvement in Project Playhouse each HomeAid supporter has the chance to stand up and be counted by changing the lives of those who may have forgotten how to dream. Project Playhouse is an opportunity where giving the gift of creativity and playtime to the fortunate child in our lives will help the child of another in ways we may never know.