Enter now for your chance to win big and help wishes come true through the Home Builder Association’s Charitable & Education Foundation’s fourth annual “A Home for the Holidays” home give-away

By Mimi Vanderhaven

The Home Builders Association Charitable & Education Foundation’s (HBACEF) fourth annual “A Home for the Holidays” is back for 2023, and this year the home is located right here in Avon. You’ll find it at 33678 Via San Angelo Drive in the beautiful Red Tail subdivision.

The home will be open to the public for tours beginning Saturday, November 25, through New Year’s Eve. That evening, the lucky winner will be drawn for a chance to win the home or cash prize.

Valued at a minimum of $799,000+, this year’s modern, European-style home features 3,100-squre-foot of luxurious living space, including 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and a 3-car garage. The home is being built by the Rocky River-based Mancuso Homes, which is owned and operated by Darren and Kate Mancuso.

Mancuso Homes is an award-winning HBA builder member company. “At Mancuso Homes you’ll find a one-stop-shop real estate company for buying, selling, designing and construction. We take away the hassle of finding a realtor, architect, designer and construction company,” says owners Darren and Kate Mancuso.

“We are incredibly honored to be able to do what we love - design and build homes, while giving back to our local community. Both Make-a-Wish and HBA’s Workforce Development programs are two deserving causes that are close to our heart,” adds Darren. Visit www.mancusohomes.com for more information.

Tickets for the drawing are $100 each and may be purchased at HBAhomefortheholidays.org and daily during the tours. The winner will be announced on December 31 on News5.

Your Ticket Helps Worthy Causes
Raffle proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana (OKI), which has now granted more than 20,000 wishes. “The money we raise goes to grant wishes for kids exclusively in our area,” explains Brenda Callaghan, executive director of the HBA of Greater Cleveland. “Since we launched Home for the Holidays in 2020, we’ve raised $500,000 for Make-A-Wish and helped grant 50 wishes for kids right here.”

Proceeds also benefit the HBACEF, which supports area charities, including Greater Cleveland Fisher House, Special Veterans in Need, Homes for Our Troops, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, along with Make-A-Wish.

The HBACEF has also created many scholarships for students entering the construction industry, as a part of its workforce development initiatives. This fall, the foundation also launched a pilot program called Pre-apprenticeship Certification Training (PACT) at Mayfield High School, with the goal of expanding the program to more schools in the coming years.

“PACT is an award-winning pre-apprenticeship program of the National Home Builder’s Association’s Home Building Institute, and we’re proud and excited to be piloting it here in Northeast Ohio,” Brenda says. “The program allows students to get a jump start on a career in the trades in high school, as early as their sophomore year.”

Brenda says the in-depth curriculum includes in school instruction, field trips to job sites, and hard hat student tours. The program covers construction math, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, masonry, landscaping, painting, and finishing, HVAC, and more, including employability skills.

In-Person Tours
The home is open for tours every day of the week from now until New Year’s, excluding Christmas Day. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. every day and noon to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. Visitors will enjoy a self-guided tour of the home and can expect to see many of the latest trends in new home building.

More About Make-A-Wish OKI
Entering to win such a beautiful home is fun and exciting, but even if you don’t win, you’re contributing to worthy causes, including Make-A-Wish.

The mission of Make-A-Wish OKI is to create life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses, and about 80% of wish kids beat their illness and live typical healthy lives. “Once in adulthood, many wish kids say their wish marked a turning point in their road to treatment and recovery,” Brenda says. “And because this group focuses on our region, we’ll be helping kids in our own back yard.”

The program is about more than granting wishes for critically ill children, it’s also about healing. A recent national impact study revealed that wishes give children renewed energy and strength to fight their illness:

• 9 out of 10 wish kids reported that the wish experience relieved them from traumatic stress.
• 9 out of 10 wish parents saw their child’s emotional well-being improve with a wish.
• 8 out of 10 wish kids reported that their wish gave them the strength to fight their critical illness.
• The children served often live in a climate of “no” – no friends, no sports, no playing outside, etc. But Make-A-Wish says “yes” to something they deeply want and that “yes” is very powerful.

“We’re excited to be working with Mancuso Homes to give away this gorgeous home in Avon and help so many worthy causes,” Brenda says. “This year, the home’s interior furnishings are provided by the fabulous team at Fish Furniture. We expect 5,000 people to tour the home beginning November 25, to experience this beautifully built $799,000+ home. Of course, you don’t have to wait to tour the home to enter the drawing. Tickets are available online right now.”

For more information about the HBACEF fourth annual “A Home for the Holidays” home give-away, visit HBAHomefortheHolidays.org.