StyleCraft Blog
3 for 3! Reflecting on the 2020 St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway
September 25, 2020
Before we close the book on our third year of leading the charge for the Richmond St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway, we need to take care of a little business. And that business is thanking a lot of people.
So, to our team, trade partners, sponsors and the entire Richmond community — we thank you for rallying around this amazing cause. Our gratitude is even more elevated this year given the unique challenges presented by the global pandemic.
Let’s take a moment to reflect back on the successful journey that was the 2020 St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway.
A WORD TO OUR PARTNERS & SPONSORS
The generosity of our trade partners runs deep. Not only did they make a commitment of to build the “Dream Home” at zero net cost during our Bricks & Sticks kick-off event, but they delivered in new and creative ways this year. Likewise, even with the many challenges presenting businesses this year, our local and national sponsors dug deep — donating materials and getting the word out.
‘3 FOR 3’
When you’re working with such great people, and supporting a cause that brings out our best, momentum follows fast. This momentum builds awareness, which in turn creates real buzz. That’s one of the best aspects of the giveaway — even with the well-noted challenges we faced this past year, this growing positive buzz played a huge role in selling out all tickets, one month in advance of the giveaway. When we say this was the best St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway yet, it’s not lip service. The proof is in the bottom line: a record $1,060,324 raised for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital — all of which goes to children battling life-threatening diseases and their families.
MEANT TO BE
We’re not so sure it was luck when Charles Rainey’s ticket was pulled in the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway drawing. We think it was meant to be. That’s because the Rainey family is a big supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital — and their mission hits close to home. Their daughter, Allison, is a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed in the late ‘80s.
“We went through 4.5 years of chemo and treatment at MCV,” Charlies Rainey said in an NBC 12 interview.
“I love St. Jude because when I see those children . . . I know what they’re going through,” Allison Rainey added.
Now the Raineys get to call Short Pump and Saunders Station home. Their “Dream Home” is a 3-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house that totals 2,600-plus square feet and is valued at $500,000. It’s the first time St. Jude gave the green light to a partnering homebuilder to construct a townhome for the giveaway, a testament to the confidence they have in our ability to pull it off without missing a beat.
You know what’s coming next: the 2021 St. Just Dream Home Giveaway. But before we start building the anticipation — and the “Dream Home” — here’s one last trip down memory lane:
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