|
Pardee Builds Playhouses to Raise Funds for the Homeless
HomeAid, a leading non-profit provider of housing for the homeless, has announced that eight of its chapters in various states are hosting local “Project Playhouse”™ fund-raising events this year.
Chapters in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are featuring special American Girl®-themed playhouses and Washington, D.C. will showcase an educational, environmentally sustainable playhouse that will be installed in the city’s National Building Museum this month.
For 15 years, Project Playhouse has displayed and auctioned off professionally constructed children’s playhouses to raise money for HomeAid to build transitional housing around the country.
The three American Girl playhouses — based on the popular brand’s Nicki doll characterizing the spirit of volunteerism — are all built by Pardee Homes.
The Chicago house is currently on display at Westfield Old Orchard in Skokie at Golf Road and Skokie Boulevard, and will be raffled off in an Oct. 13 drawing in conjunction with HomeAid Chicago's “Run for Cover” fundraiser.
The Los Angeles playhouse is on display through Oct. 20 at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks. HomeAid Los Angeles/Ventura will auction the house and two others at its Project Playhouse Auction Party at Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, Calif. on Oct. 20.
The New York American Girl playhouse will be donated to WestHelp Greenburgh, a transitional housing facility for homeless women and their preschool-aged children in White Plains, a suburb of New York City. The apartment-style transitional home is operated by Manhattan-based HELP USA and serves 108 families, providing housing, job skills training and other services to help rebuild self-sufficient lives.
“Project Playhouse has raised millions of dollars for homeless building projects around the country,” said Genette Eaton, chief executive officer of HomeAid. “In addition to being a tremendous fundraiser, it is a fun, creative way to raise awareness and increase the public dialogue about transitional, or temporary, homelessness, which affects hundreds of thousands of hardworking individuals and families.”
The playhouses are 8’ x 10’ x 10’ miniature homes that feature the same craftsmanship and quality as the real home built by the same home builders. They often include working electricity, running water and high-end materials such as granite and mahogany. Fully furnished, many of the playhouses in recent years have even included plasma television screens.
Weighing approximately 7,000 pounds, each playhouse is built to stand up to the wear and tear of children’s play. In previous years, playhouses have been auctioned for as much as $75,000.
|
