L to R: Jeremy Vorndran, 84 Lumber outside sales representative; and Jeff Crawford of Cleveland Custom Homes, the builder of the St. Jude Dream Home in Avon Lake, Ohio
EIGHTY FOUR, Pa. (Oct. 31, 2019) – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital recently named 84 Lumber Trade Partner of the Year for its work on a St. Jude Dream Home in Avon Lake, Ohio. The company’s Columbia Station, Ohio, store donated more than $80,000 in materials to the project, including lumber, windows, exterior and interior doors, and more. The house was part of St. Jude’s Dream Home Giveaway campaign, which builds new houses across the country and allows the public to vie for them via a ticket drawing. All proceeds from ticket sales are then donated to St. Jude to support families with children who have cancer.
The Dream Home took five months to complete and raised $2 million in ticket sales. It was presented to the winner last month. Jeremy Vorndran, an outside sales representative for 84 Lumber, was involved in the project from the start and has become a staunch advocate for the Dream Home program. His efforts helped 84 Lumber secure the Trade Partner of the Year honor.
“The Dream Home Giveaway is one of our largest single-event fundraisers across the country and is only made possible with an entire community coming together,” said Paige Cranwell, development representative for the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude. “Our trade partners are the backbone of this program, and because of all that they donate in material and labor, their fierce loyalty and support of the hospital, and their contributions that go beyond just their trade, our program is able to continue to grow and improve year after year to further support children everywhere.”
This was Vorndran’s fourth Dream Home project, with his fifth scheduled to start in the coming months. The program has given comfort to him in recent years in the wake of some medical scares within his family.
“Working on St. Jude Dream Homes has made me a better husband, father and person,” he said. “After what my family and I have gone through over the past few years, I decided that I can do better, and this is how I’m doing it. I am in this for life.”
84 Lumber has been a longtime supporter of St. Jude. Since 2004, the company has made nearly $750,000 in monetary and material donations to the organization.