There’s only one week left to purchase a ticket for the St. Jude Dream Home and with that in mind, The Bryan County News caught up with Homes of Integrity’s Meagan Mowry to get the scoop on what the Dream Home giveaway is all about.
What is the St. Jude Dream Home?
It is a beautiful homewe built that St. Jude is giving away to the winner of the raffle. Everybody has the opportunity to buy a ticket for $100. There are other prizes too, and one in every 500 can win prizes like a year’s worth of flowers, a family portrait session and two round-trip airfares to any AirTran domestic destination. All the prizes are worth $1,000 or more.
How did Homes of Integrity get involved?
St. Jude called us last October and asked if we’d like to be the builder. We immediately agreed and were excited to have the opportunity. What we do is, at no cost to St. Jude, manage the job. We went out and solicited subcontractors that would do the work at cost or no cost, so we could build the home at a very low price. The donations we received were just incredible. For the market to be in the shape it is, we didn’t expect it to go as well as it did.
Tell about the hospital where the proceeds are going.
The St. Jude Hospital is based out of Memphis, Tennessee. They treat children with many different forms of catastrophic diseases – cancer being the most common. They also do lots of research on childhood illnesses. The patients treated never receive a bill, and that’s because of events like this one.
How long has the Dream Home program been around, and has it been a successful one for the hospital so far?
This is the seventh year. Around $164 million have been raised through approximately 30 Dream Homes per year nationwide.
What about the home itself?
The home is located right here in Richmond Hill, in the Dunham Marsh subdivision. The homes built there are really unique. They have large porches and rear or side entry garages like those built in the 1940’s and 50’s. The amenity package is top notch there as well, so we’re excited that we were able to offer a home so high end. It is 2,250 square feet with three bedroom/three and a half bath and about 700 feet of covered porches. The backyard has a huge outdoor kitchen which is probably the most exciting thing about the home. The home has a lot of great custom features and it’s all beautifully furnished.
When can people view the home?
Starting Saturday, June 6, the home will be open everyday until the giveaway. Tickets are available up until that day as well.
When is the giveaway date?
The actual drawing will take place live on June 14 on WSAV during the 6 p.m. news. We encourage everyone to buy tickets before then because only 7,500 are being sold. We’re just about halfway there right now.
Where can they purchase a ticket?
They’re available at Hancock Fabrics in Savannah and Savannah Bank locations. In Richmond Hill they’re available at Dunham Marsh and also Homes of Integrity, across from Plantation Lumber.
Talk about the event that is scheduled for Sunday, June 7.
It’s going to be family day at the Dream Home between noon and 5, and we have some really neat free activities planned for kids. They can meet Gnate the Gnat of the Savannah Sand Gnats, Silly Dilly the Clown, have their face painted and kids 12 and under can register for free for a prizes such as being able to throw the first pitch at the June 10th Sand Gnats game.
For more information on the St. Jude Dream Home, visit www.homesofintegrityconstruction.com or call 727-2920.
- by Ross Blair