By Aila Boyd
The giveaway for the St. Jude dream home located in Ashley Plantation was held Wednesday, June 26.
Justin Dodd of Charlotte Court House, Va. was the winner.
“I really didn’t know what to say. My mom was yelling and my dad was pretty excited as well,” Dodd said, who learned that he was the winner while watching the news. “It really hits home when you see the little ones when they’re sick and have done nothing to ask for it, so it’s a good program.”
Tickets for the house were sold for $100. In total, $560,000 was raised for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The house, which is valued at $425,000, was built by M.W. Dunbar Construction. Mark Dunbar, owner, described the process of collaborating with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as having been “a great experience.”
“We were very busy throughout this whole process,” Dunbar said. “It was fufilling because we did something great for the hospital. That’s what it was all about. It was a blessing to be able to do something to give back. It was a blessing for my family to have done it.”
As for whether or not he will build another dream house, Dunbar said that he hasn’t ruled out the possibility. He noted that he has a lot of other projects going on at the moment, which prevented him from signing on for another one.
The next local dream home will be built in Forest, Va.
The project started back in October of 2018 when Dunbar broke ground at the site. The single-family home includes four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms.
Sponsors for the project included ABC13-WSET, 107.9 WYYD, and Bank of the James.
