Opening the doors to sharing Opening the doors to sharing (December 05, 2003)

Holiday house tour raises funds for Nicaragua poor
by Teresa C. Brown

Speaking in her soft Spanish accent, Pleasanton interior designer Grisell Navas recalled how a solitary photograph touched her heart and, in the last six years, has continued to touch other people. The photograph, Navas said, was taken in Leon, her Nicaraguan birthplace. Although she had not lived there since she was a toddler, she visited the town six years ago.

Attracted to color and texture, Navas was intrigued by one building as she was taking photographs. Worn and aged, the faded blue stucco walls contrasted sharply against a red clay dirt yard and the simplicity of an indigo door and shutters. As Navas was changing her film, a young boy stepped outside the house, holding an empty plate, and in that moment, she captured the heart of what has become a passion.

The resulting photograph was a powerful image representing what Navas saw in Leon. The poverty was devastating to her, and she realized that she needed to do something to help. Founding the nonprofit organization Feed Nicaragua, she has held an annual fundraiser with all of the proceeds benefiting underprivileged families in Leon.

Navas has coordinated with seven Pleasanton and two Danville homeowners to open their festively decorated homes for a fundraising open house tour Dec. 7, called Open Hearts, Open Hands, Open Homes. "It's about giving and sharing what we have," Navas said.

Navas said the six-hour tour will be like attending a holiday party at each home. Each will feature a different theme. At one home, tasting champagne and sparkling wine will be the highlight; at another, a complete holiday cooking demonstration will take place.

Yet another home will accent Asian elegance with gift wrapping demonstrations, while another will showcase children's activities including Santa Claus, Christmas storytelling and crafts.

A 35-member youth choir will entertain at one home while pianists, a cellist and the senior choir Silver Liners will perform at another. Other activities include cooking and baking, a contest of best holiday dressed and puppet shows. Each of the homes will feature a Christmas tree decorated to showcase a country and its holiday traditions.

Navas has recruited about 120 people to help with the open house event, including 15-20 designers who worked with the homeowners to decorate in the holiday spirit, as well as photographers and hosts at each venue. Her daughter and son-in-law, Naraya and Erik Hockaday of Pleasanton, are lending a hand creating the tour map, and her son, Joshua Altieri, will be distributing fliers.

Through Feed Nicaragua, Navas has raised several thousand dollars every year, enabling her to provide meals three days a week throughout the year. But this year she is hoping to raise enough money to build a dining hall.

"One hundred dollars will feed 200 children," she said. With $40,000-$50,000, a dining hall can be built, she said. Currently, the organization serves the meals at facilities such as her mother's church. A dining hall is only one of Navas' goals. After that, she plans to build a school and a hospital.

While the festive event Sunday opens the doors to the professionally decorated homes for an afternoon, Navas quickly added, "The houses are all beautiful, but more important are the people that live there." The event is not really about the houses, she said - it is about giving.
Open Hearts, Open Hands, Open Homes

What: Tour of nine homes beautifully decorated for the holidays When: 2-8 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 7 Cost: $45 per person with group discounts available Reservations: At Macy's Furniture in Pleasanton and Concord; Bank of the West in Danville Telephone: 735-7733 or 227-4875

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