St. Jude Dream Home:
Building Houses to End Childhood Cancer
Article by Hannah Holbrook | Photos provided by Pitman Custom Homes
Pitman Custom Homes and Magruder Homes have united in a campaign to help end cancer for children. How? Through building houses. Partnered with St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, these two competitors have found a way to use their personal businesses and skills for the greater good.
“We had initially heard about a program that St. Jude’s had in other markets with homebuilders. In this program, homebuilders build a house and once it is finished and sold, all the proceeds go to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital,” explained Jimmy Pitman, Owner of Pitman Custom Homes. So many families have been impacted in some way by cancer, and as the Pitmans and Magruders discovered more and more about the heart and vision at St. Jude’s, they knew they wanted to play a role in making a difference. “Any family that goes to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital never receives a bill for travel, food, treatment, housing, or anything,” said Jimmy Pitman. “If your child is sick, St. Jude’s wants you to focus on getting your child healthy. That’s one of the reasons we were initially drawn to St. Jude’s.” As the Pitman and Magruder families looked for ways to support St. Jude’s together, they realized that they could use their homebuilding businesses to help raise funds for the hospital. For them, it was more than a way to aid in saving lives; they saw a way to create a better future. “Whenever St. Jude’s discovers a new technique or cure, they release it. That way other places can have the information and use it to immediately start treating patients. When you think about it, they are changing things for people that haven’t even been born yet. They’re just changing our entire base of knowledge when it comes to childhood cancer. They’re changing the world, and that gets people really excited,” shared Jimmy Pitman.
The first major cancer St. Jude’s researched and treated was Leukemia. At the time, it was the most common cancer amongst children. When they opened, children with Leukemia had a 4% survival rate. Today, the survival rate for children with Leukemia is over 90%, and the research done by St. Jude’s has played a huge role in that. When the hospital opened its doors in 1962, children with cancer had a 20% survival rate, and today over 80% survive. The team at St. Jude’s is committed to getting that number to 100%, and their ultimate goal is to close their doors because all children with cancer have been cured. This worthy cause left a mark on the Pitmans and Magruders, and starting last year, they launched a community wide effort to build a Dream Home, which, upon completion, will be sold and all proceeds will be donated to St. Jude’s.
The St. Jude Dream Home program is one of the largest single-event fundraisers for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, generating nearly $425 million for research and treatment since 1991 through the construction of more than 500 homes nationwide. There are only three locations in the state of Texas with Dream Homes: San Antonio, Waco, and Bryan-College Station. In deciding to partner with St. Jude’s, the Pitman and Magruder families have brought something to the Brazos Valley that will forever change our city’s legacy.
Once other local businesses, families, and individuals in the Brazos Valley heard about this initiative, everyone wanted to get involved. “As soon as we announced what we were doing people didn’t respond with questioning how it would all work, they responded with ‘let’s do it, and we’ll figure everything out along the way,’” explained Tyan Maguder, Co-Owner of Magruder Homes. In true Brazos Valley fashion, our community’s commitment to selfless services showed up in full force. “We’ve had everyone in this community, from big corporations to small children, asking us how they can be a part of this and contribute,” said Pitman. “We have multiple trades working all areas of the build. We have more than one framer, more than one guy donating brick, more than one person doing everything. You’re seeing all of these competitors in the market lay down their competitive swords and join up for something that we can all get behind,” explained Tyan Magruder. When the people in the Brazos Valley rally behind a cause, everyone pitches in to help. “Some folks in the community have come out and provided really nice lunches on the job site to show thanks to the people who are working,” mentioned Jimmy Pitman, while others have hosted cookouts and manned lemonade stands benefiting the project.
“This is absolutely a community build. Our names are attached to it, but this is on behalf of Bryan-College Station. As many people as we can get involved, we’ll take,” said John Magruder, Co-Owner of Magruder Homes. He shared that at Magruder Homes, their team has decided to make it a company-wide project. Every member of their team has donated in some way to building the Dream Home. The Magruders and Pitmans want to encourage local businesses and their staff to rally behind this project as a team. Giving back corporately not only unifies a company, it changes the culture of a place.
The home is set to be finished late this spring; however, there are still a few pieces that need to come together for this dream to be fully realized.
“We’ve got a lot of people that are donating their time, but they still have to pay their laborers. While everyone is giving everything at a highly discounted rate, as close as they can to free, not everyone can donate 100%. What we’re looking is monetary donations that will all us to meet that demand and offset it. The people that can donate 75% framing labor still need that other 25% covered. The idea is that we build this house for no cost so that if the house sells for $525,000, we can write a check to St. Jude’s for the entire amount and not have to worry about any bills. Even if someone donates $25, it goes such a long way, and we can definitely put it to good use. There’s no amount that is too small,” explained Tyan Magruder. The Pitmans and Magruders have a goal of raising $100,000 before the house is put on the market. Because of the generosity of the people in our community, they have already raised $40,000. You can follow the link below to donate and be a part of this initiative to end childhood cancer.
For more information or to donate today click here.
When the house is finished, the Pitmans and Magruders are going to have a debut party for all the people that have participated in making this Dream Home a reality. Contributors will be able to come out and see what months of hard work, community unity, and effort have accomplished. Then, the very next day the house will be put on the market. The whole community is invited to an open house showcase that weekend.
“The idea with the program is to not do it one time. We are hoping to continue this for as long as we can,” shared Tyan Magruder. Both the Pitmans and Magruders desire that Bryan-College Station be known for fighting cancer and transforming lives. “Our goal is to do one of these homes every year,” said Jimmy Pitman.
Thank you to all the businesses who laid down their schedules, profits, resources, and energy to take part in the first (of many) Dream Homes in our region.
Visit TheHouseThatSocialMediaBuilt.com and be a part of the process by voting on the different features of the house!
