GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) -
Work has begun on the 2013 edition of the St. Jude Dream Home. Again this year it is in the Tradition Community off of Highway 67. The home, when finished, will be about 3,400 square feet heating and cooled, with a large outdoor kitchen and several patios.
Randy Mason of Mason Trendsetters, is the general contractor.
"This house has more heart than any home I have ever built," Mason said.
The long time contractor is donating his time.
The work that St. Jude does, has a special place in his heart. Mason and his wife lost a 10-year-old granddaughter to cancer a few years ago.
"It just means a lot to me to be able to be part of making sure we can help kids and other families so they do not experience the kind of loss that we suffered," he said.
Ticket sales from last years home raised about $700,000. Real estate agent Jacki Dalexander is working with Mason on the home. She said they are hoping to set an all time record for ticket sales of a St. Jude home on the coast.
Most of the materials will be donated by various companies and organizations in South Mississippi.
Each ticket costs $100 and the lucky winner will walk away with a home valued at about half a million bucks.
Tickets go on sale January 24, and the drawing will be held April 14.
Fundraisers like this are vital to St. Jude. It costs about $1.8 million a day to run the hospital. Best of all, no patient ever pays a dime.
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