On June 23, Ellen Breland of Chattanooga received news that would change her life: She is the winner of the 2013 St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway in Chattanooga. The 3,000-square-foot single family home was built by G.T. Issa Construction and is located in the Hawks Landing subdivision of Apison, Tenn. The winning ticket was pulled from 7,000 tickets during the live St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway special on WRCB Channel 3.
Ellen Breland and her husband, John Henry, were in awe as they saw their brand new Dream Home for the first time. Just hours before, Ellen received a call from a St. Jude representative telling her she had won the 2013 St. Jude Dream Home. Ellen said, “I was at home all by myself, and I didn’t have a clue. She told me I won the home, and I couldn’t believe it. My phone kept beeping while I was talking to her because everybody was trying to call me, and it’s been crazy ever since.”
Ellen explained it was a tradition to purchase the ticket every year with her mother in law, Henrietta Breland, who passed of cancer last September. Henrietta was a longtime St. Jude supporter and made a request before her passing. “She told everybody, ‘Don’t buy flowers; make a donation to St. Jude,’” said John Henry.
Not only does the St. Jude Dream Home, with an estimated value of $350,000, benefit the new homeowner, but also the children of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital who are battling cancer and other deadly diseases. Ellen said, “It’s the children of St. Jude who are the real winners. It’s not about what you get out of it, it’s what you give. It’s not about this house, it’s not about anything. It’s about those kids.”
Since the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway launched in 1991, St. Jude has given away more than 300 houses and raised more than $240 million in ticket sales. It’s because of programs like this that no family pays St. Jude for anything, and St. Jude covers the cost of treatment, travel, lodging, and food for its patients and a family member.
Source: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital