Soon some lucky person will win a new smart home in the rudder Pointe neighborhood of Bryan in a raffle to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The Bryan giveaway is just one of more than 40 across the United States, and all of the money raised through this home giveaway campaign will go toward childhood cancer research at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Ranger Home Builders stepped up to design, construct, and give away the St. Jude Dream Home estimated to be worth $235,000. Seven thousand raffle tickets will be available for $100 each, and ticket holders will be eligible to win the three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,521-square-foot home and other prizes. All prizes, including the home, will be raffled off on June 3, 2021. Tickets can be reserved beginning on April 1, 2021. "Once the tickets are gone, they're gone," says Annie Smith, St. Jude regional development specialist.
This year, for the first time, the dream home will be solely constructed by Ranger Home Builders, says John Magruder, one of three co-owners of Ranger Home BUilders along with Blake Cathey and Jimmy Pitman. It is also the first time that the home will be given away instead of sold. "We try to be on the front end of innovation when it comes to smart home technology," Magruder says. "We provide a homeowner with the opportunity to make their home as automated as they want." The modern smart home features of the Rudder Pointe dream home include a keypad deadbolt on the door, a Ring doorbell, smart lights, soft-close cabinets and drawers, and designer fixtures, says Pitman.
The dream home is not the only item to be raffled at the end of the 10-week period, Magruder says. The other prizes include a gold watch valued at $5,200 courtesy of David Gardner's Jewelers & Gemologists, a year of free groceries contributed by NFM Lending, a $10,000 Visa gift card gifted by the Dream Day Foundation. The ticket purchaser can win multiple prizes. He notes that in another region of the country, the same man won both a truck and a house. "If you win something, your name goes back in the hopper, so you're not out of contention," he says.
For the previous two years, the Magruder and Pitman families contributed to the construction of the homes through their individual firms. "In years past, what we've done is we've built a house ... and then sold it, and whatever we made on the house is what we donated," Magruder says. In total, they raised over $1 million, combined, with the last two builds, he adds. "We didn't know what to expect the first year, and the way that our area responded was phenomenal," Pitman says.
Altogether, the dream homes built across the country will raise approximately $30 million for St. Jude Research Hospital, says Pitman. "St. Jude was founded with the sole purpose of eliminated childhood cancer and childhood diseases," Pitman says. When the hospital was founded in 1962, childhood cancer had a survival rate of 20%, according to the St. Jude Research Hospital website. Through their research, that rate has increased to 80%.
This year's local sponsors include KBTX-TV, Willy 97.7 FM, Maverick 100.9 FM, and La Jefa 102.7 FM, Rudder POinte, Insite Brazos Valley and parent company Integ, NGM Lending, David Gardner's Jewelers; and the Dream Day Foundation. National sponsors that have donated materials toward the build include Brizo, Shaw Floors, Trane, and Bosch.
"We're just thrilled that here we are at the third home (formerly known as the Hope House) for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and it seems like it's still building in momentum," Pitman says.
For more information, visit stjude.org/give/dream-home/college-station.html.
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St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway
Raffle tickets are $100 each and need to be purchased by the following dates to be eligible to win these prizes:
April 9, 2021: Early Bird Prize A Tudor Black Bay Steel and Gold Watch, valued at $5,200. Donation by David Gardner's Jewelers & Gemologists
April 29, 2021: A year of free groceries. Donation by NFM Lending.
May 20, 2021: A $10,000 Visa gift card. Donation by the Dream Day Foundation.
June 3, 2021: A 1,521-square-foot Ranger Home in Rudder Pointe valued at $235,000.
Tickets can be purchased by phone at 800-219-8230 or online at dreamhome.org.
