It’s no secret that Tennessee’s population is booming – U-Haul reports that more of their trucks traveled to the Volunteer State than any other state in 2020. Of course, this has enormous implications for real estate, including a spiking demand for new construction and bidding wars that pose serious challenges to aspiring homeowners in Tennessee.
However, things could be different for one lucky winner of the St. Jude Dream Home! Every year since 2012, Preventia has teamed up with Chattanooga builder G.T. Issa Premier Homes alongside local designers, vendors, and service providers to build a gorgeous home that keeps the spirit of charity alive. The home is raffled off with tickets costing $100 apiece – and if the allure of winning an estimated $600,000 home for just $100 isn’t enough, ticket buyers can feel good knowing every dollar goes toward St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
According to St. Jude, their operating costs run as high as $2.2 million a day. About 75% of these funds are received from donations, and the hospital never charges families for treatment, travel, or housing. Being able to support this life changing organization is more than enough motivation for dozens of Chattanooga-area vendors to participate. Preventia will be donating equipment and labor to install a security system in the 2022 Dream Home, ensuring that its future residents are able to sleep well knowing they are safe in their new home.
“We at Preventia feel privileged to have the opportunity to work on the Dream Home project every year,” says Aaron Whitaker, owner and founder of Preventia. “Our mission is to shield lives, and whether it’s security or healthcare, we fully stand behind any project that saves lives. We are proud to not only provide a system that will keep the future residents of this home safe, but contribute to St. Jude’s critical mission as well.”
Individuals and businesses alike purchase the Dream Home raffle tickets, with the occasional eager participant stocking up on as many as 66! Incredibly, each winner over the past decade purchased only a single very lucky ticket. All ticket purchases are eligible to be written-off as a donation for tax purposes.
“It’s amazing what we’ve been able to do – last year we raised about $1.4 million,” said Gus Issa, founder of G.T. Issa Premier Homes. “We’ve been building Dream Homes for 10 years and we’ve raised just short of $10 million dollars in that time, so we’re excited to reach that milestone this year!”
As for the state of the newest home-to-be – the groundbreaking took place on November 17th, and the team is preparing to begin the build. The project is running perfectly on schedule in spite of hangups caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, mostly thanks to diligent advance planning and strong buy-in from participating businesses.
Tickets for the 2022 St. Jude Dream Home will become available next spring, and the winner will be announced in June. Learn more by visiting www.stjude.org.
