For the third year, Ranger Home Builders has teamed up with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® for the highly anticipated annual St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaway. This collaborative event stands as a beacon of hope in the Brazos Valley, creating the opportunity for participants to support St. Jude’s mission of combating childhood cancer, while having the chance to win a brand-new home with an estimated value of $420,000 for just a $100 ticket.
The roots of the initiative trace back to 1991 when a Louisiana doctor, Dr. Donald Mack, was gifted a house for St. Jude by a generous benefactor. Dr. Mack’s decision to raffle the house and donate the proceeds to St. Jude sparked the formation of what would later evolve into the St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaway. In just over three decades, the campaign has grown into a nationwide event, with over 40 participating areas across the United States, including our very own Brazos Valley, where it has raised over $1.3 million since its inception in 2021.
Teresa Buscemi, senior program advisor of the St. Jude Dream Home® Giveaway at ALSAC, says their partnership with Ranger is invaluable to the giveaway’s success, playing a pivotal role in securing construction sponsors and funds.
“The team at Ranger Home Builders is extremely passionate about St. Jude, the mission at St. Jude and furthering that mission in the community; we could not make this happen without them,” Teresa says. “[They] are an incredible resource for us in the community and they really help us get the word out, both in the way of support and ticket sales.”
The Ranger team works months in advance to ensure the Dream Home Giveaway is done at as low of a cost to St. Jude as possible, making the incredible feat of being named a “Zero Hero” for two consecutive years.
“[Zero Hero] means that they’ve built
these homes at zero cost to us, so all of the money that’s raised is going back to St. Jude,” Teresa explains. “There are over 40 markets with giveaways across the country, and last year 12 were Zero Heroes, which is a high number compared to what we’ve seen in the past but still a very low percentage of dream homes that have reached that status. So, it’s really a testament to the commitment of our builder team; because of the passion that they have, people are willing to step up to the plate and donate as much as they can.”
The 2024 Bryan/College Station Dream Home boasts a generous floor plan, encompassing more than 2,000 square feet with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and an upstairs bonus room. Equipped with smart home technology, the house offers a modern aesthetic in both appearance and function with 10-foot ceilings, sleek quartz countertops and bold accent walls.
Caleb DeLuna, operations manager for Ranger Home Builders, says that each unique feature of the home is the product of numerous local donors that have given their time and talent to bring the home to fruition.
“It’s the whole community that makes it all come together,” Caleb says. “It’s not just our brick mason or our framer or our lumber supplier. It’s also realtors offices, mortgage lenders or even friends of ours that want to get involved, or people that we don’t even know that might have had a family member impacted by cancer. Everyone is pitching in to make this happen.”
Now in his second year of leading the Dream Home efforts, Caleb says the Ranger team continues to work toward the goal of being a Zero Hero.
“Being a Zero Hero means that whatever it costs us to build that house, we were either able to have 100% of it donated or we were able to fundraise the difference and fill in that gap,” Caleb says. “Every year that we’ve done it, we’ve been fortunate that the developers in neighborhoods that we’ve built in have donated the entire cost of the lot, which is a huge expense. So, in Southern Pointe, we approached them about being a partner and they didn’t hesitate. They agreed to donate the entire cost of the lot, and that’s huge expense.”
In addition to the grand prize of a new home, the program offers additional prizes donated by other generous sponsors. These prizes not only add excitement to the event, but also provide participants with the opportunity to win rewards based on when they secure their tickets. Other major local sponsors include KBTX, Southern Pointe, Bock Realty Group, Bullard and Browning Interior, Walsh and Mangan Premier Real Estate Group and prize donor David Gardener’s Jewelers.
“This is my first time leading the program, and being in the community as you are, I’ve seen how it’s such a tight-knit community here,” ALSAC Development Representative Amanda Berman says. “Everybody looks out for everybody else, and is so willing to lend a hand. That is a very unique thing about Bryan/College Station and it makes me really proud to be a part of this campaign and working with these incredible people.”
Tickets are on sale now at stjude.org/give/ dream-home/college-station.html. To learn more about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and their mission, visit stjude.org.
Reserve your ticket by this date for a chance to win the house and these milestone prizes.
May 2: American Airlines AAdvantage® miles, valued at $5,000, courtesy of American Airlines
May 16: $10,000 VISA gift card, courtesy of Dream Day Foundation
June 4: Gas and Grocery gift cards, valued at $2,500
