Earlier this month, residents, business owners and community leaders took to the links at the EastLake Country Club to raise money for local schools. Among the participants and major sponsors of the event were Signs & Pinnick, First American Title Company, Stone & Youngbery, LLC, The Jasper Companies, American Golf and The EastLake Company.

Close to $40,000 was raised at this year’s annual golf tournament, which benefits the EastLake Educational Foundation. In its five years of existence, the foundation has raised more than $300,000 for five area public schools – the four EastLake neighborhood schools and the local middle school. The funds have been used to provide high-tech equipment and services to K-12 classrooms and to build and equip the high school’s observatory, the only one of its kind on a California high school campus.

Within the 3,200-acre EastLake community are three elementary schools and one high school. The newest elementary school in the community opened in summer of 2000 in the neighborhood of EastLake Trails.

Homes are now for sale in EastLake Trails, the newest neighborhood in the popular South County master-planned community. Homebuyers can select from a wide variety of new homes being built in EastLake Trails by award-winning residential developers, including:

- Sycamore Ridge by Shea Homes offers two and three bedroom town homes ranging in size from 1,039 to 1,368 square feet and priced from the high $100,000s. For information: (619) 421-2181

- Bridlewood by KB Home includes three and four bedroom homes ranging in size from 1,244 to 1,589 square feet and priced from the mid $200,000s. For information: (619) 421-2535.

- Sevilla by Cornerstone Communities features three distinctive two-story floor plans ranging in size from 1,700 to 2,038 square feet with three bedrooms (with option for fourth), two-and-a-half to three baths, den, loft and two-car garage. Prices begin in the high-$200,000s. For information: (619) 216-6061.

- Sierra by KB Home provides three distinctive two-story floor plans. Homes vary from three to six bedrooms and 2,337 to 2,873 square feet in size. Prices start from the low $300,000s. For information: (619) 397-4502.

- Park Place by Continental Homes offers five upscale single-family homes ranging from 2,612 to 3,701 square feet with such distinct features as master retreats, butlers pantries, decks and bonus rooms. Prices start in the low $400,000s. For information: (619) 656-9393.

For the fifth consecutive year, EastLake was voted the Best New Home Community in San Diego. For more information about EastLake, visit or call the HomeFinding Center at (619) 421-3111 or log on to www.eastlake.net. To visit, take I-805 to Telegraph Canyon Road, go east and follow the signs to EastLake and EastLake HomeFinding Center.