Tuscan Lakes - Tuscan Lakes Fights Poverty With Childs Play

(League City, Texas – Jan. 31, 2008) “Ending the cycle of poverty is what Habitat for Humanity is all about,” said Bob Douglas, general manager of Tuscan Lakes. “That’s why Tuscan Lakes, a resort-style community of The Johnson Development Corporation, is proud to sponsor the Parade of Playhouses fundraiser.”

Beginning February 11, four eight-foot by eight-foot children’s playhouses, sponsored by Tuscan Lakes, will be displayed at Baybrook Mall’s Grand Court. Mall visitors will have a chance to win a Cape Cod cottage, Victorian cottage, schoolhouse or firehouse by purchasing raffle tickets for just $5 each at the mall information desk.

All proceeds from the raffle will benefit Bay Area Habitat for Humanity-Houston, Inc., an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. The goal is to raise enough money to buy materials to build a home for a family that otherwise could not afford one.

Wendy Gorie, a member of the board of directors of Bay Area Habitat for Humanity, said that in addition to the money raised, the playhouse raffle will give the nonprofit organization greater visibility and get more people involved. For example, students, builders and the Tuscan Lakes developer are helping to make this project a success.

High School students from the FFA and Building Science classes of three Clear Creek Independent School District high schools, Clear Lake High School, Clear Creek High School and Clear Springs High School are assembling the wooden playhouses. Builders that are member of the Greater Houston Builders Association, such as Coventry Homes, Chesmar Homes, Meritage Homes and Wilshire Homes, have donated the paint, shingles and drip edge for the playhouses.

“This is a great way to involve school students in community service,” Douglas said. “And we are pleased to see the builders participating.”

Bay Area Habitat for Humanity has built nearly 50 homes in the Dickinson area and has funded 120 homes internationally since it was founded by area churches in 1991. Homes are built with volunteer labor and are sold at cost.

Habitat for Humanity is not a giveaway program. Those who qualify for the program make monthly mortgage payments on a no-interest loan. Families must also invest at least 350 hours of “sweat equity” toward building their home and the homes of others before they can buy their home.

Monies received from mortgage payments go into a revolving fund, so more houses can be built.

“That is what excites me so much about this ministry,” says Gorie, who volunteers 40 or more hours a week to the cause. “It is such a great business plan. Donated funds are never depleted; they keep on working to help those who are less fortunate become homeowners. It is a permanent, viable solution to poverty.”

Of the 50 Dickinson families who bought Habitat for Humanity homes, four have paid off their mortgages in full, and 10 have sent their children to college. Most have children in elementary school.

The playhouses will be on display at Baybrook Mall until March 23. The drawing will be held the week of March 24. A dedication ceremony will be held Friday, March 28 at 1 p.m. at the Tuscan Lakes custom sales center at 1281 Chiara Court to announce the amount of money raised for Bay Area Habitat for Humanity. The organization’s board of directors, along with teachers and students from Clear Creek Independent School District, will attend the ceremony.

For more information about the fundraiser, contact Kayla Webb, Tuscan Lakes’ marketing director, at 281.332.5450 ext. 105. For more information about Bay Area Habitat for Humanity-Houston, Inc., call 281.337.3590.