Ozzie Smith Scheduled to Make Guest Appearance at Wish Home This Thursday
by Stephanie Malench
TROY — Make-A-Wish Illinois, Make-A-Wish Missouri/Kansas, and the Home Builders and Remodelers Charitable and Educational Foundation are hosting their first Wish Home Raffle in 2025.
This year’s home is located at 1448 Guilford Place in Troy’s Hampton Glen Subdivision. The home was Union Built by CA Jones Homes and is valued at over $500,000. Special features of the 1800 square foot home with an additional 1800 square feet of unfinished basement include custom closets and pantry as well as a finished garage.
The winner may also opt to receive $300,000 cash. Only 20,000 tickets will be sold. Each ticket is $100 and anyone who is 18 or older and not an employee of Make-A-Wish or the Home Builders and Remodelers Charitable and Educational Foundation can buy as many tickets as they want. The same ticket also gives you a chance to win:
- Golf cart and golf package from SLD Carts and Far Oaks Golf Course valued at over $10,000
- Smart home security system with monitoring for a year from DST Security valued at over $3,500
- Massage every month for one year from Smooth Moves Massage Therapy valued at over $1,000
- Luxurious hot tub from Hot Tubs of St. Louis
- New fence for your home by Chesley Fence valued at $10,000.
The drawing will be held live on Fox 2 News with Tim Ezell at 9 am at the Wish Home on April 29, World Wish Day. On April 29, 1980, the first Wish was granted in Arizona to a seven-year-old boy named Chris Greicius. On that day, Greicius got to live his dream of being a police officer and died four days later in the hospital from leukemia. His mother, Linda Pauling and the volunteers who made the wish came true then formed the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
This is the second time the Foundation has teamed up with a local Make-A-Wish affiliate to have the fundraiser. The Cincinnati HBRF has been partnering with the Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana Make-A-Wish for four years. Readers in this area may have heard of a home raffle held in Missouri each holiday season. That one is sponsored by the Missouri Home Builder’s to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, which helps many of the same children.
Ozzie Smith is the spokesman for the event and will be live at the home on February 27 from 5-8 pm. This family friendly event will give community members the opportunity to tour the home in person, meet Wish Kids, and buy tickets.
Tickets are also available in person at Mark’s Appliance in Edwardsville, online at www.hbrmea.org/wish-home-raffle, over the phone by calling (800)701-2642 or mailing a check to 6100 West Main St. Maryville, IL 62062. You may also take a video tour of the home at the aforementioned websiste.
Proceeds of the raffle will go to helping Make-A-Wish Illinois grant wishes to children diagnosed with a chronic health condition such as leukemia or sickle cell anemia. In 2024, Make-A-Wish Illinois granted 790 Wishes to children across the state and has a goal of granting 700 more Wishes in 2025. Each state is covered by Make-A-Wish America and is covered by a National Medical Advisory Board to make sure the child qualifies medically. There are 62 affiliates nationwide.
Make-A-Wish is a referral-based program where Medical Professionals such as providers (doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant), nurses, social workers or child-life specialists, Parents or legal guardians, Family members with detailed knowledge of the child’s current medical condition can request a Wish. Wishes are important to children with critical or terminal illnesses to help their mental health. Being granted a Wish also allows families to unite with each other and their WishMakers for a lifetime of support.
Other sponsors that made the home possible include: Morrison Plumbing, Heating, and Air, Hello Garage, Light Brite Distributing, Inc., Goley Insulation, Boulder Designs, Vallow Floor Coverings, iHeart Radio, MidAmerica Carpenters Regional Council, and more.
