Founding Partner Whit Marshall and his team at Metro Atlanta-based Paran Homes celebrated the season of giving by donating Lot #48 at the regional builder’s Barrington Pointe community in Tennessee to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A ground-breaking ceremony was held at the site on December 12, with the launch of construction soon to follow on the next St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway house. The St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway represents one of the nonprofit organization’s largest fundraising initiatives, involving dozens of homes constructed by dedicated sponsors in cities across the nation each year. Donors purchase tickets for $100 each to be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a St. Jude Dream Home. Because St. Jude “funding comes from generous donors, St. Jude has the freedom to focus on what matters most – saving kids regardless of their financial situation. Every dollar makes a difference. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.”

“We are so happy to be partnering with Paran Homes to help the kids and families at St. Jude,” said Gus Issa, builder of the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway house. “We could not make it happen without the tremendous support of our trade partners who so graciously donate so much of their resources to make this endeavor successful each year.”

The nonprofit organization is currently hosting more than 30 Dream Home Giveaways all across the nation. All proceeds from the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee – which treats children in all 50 states and all around the world. The hospital freely shares the discoveries it makes. That means that for every child saved at St. Jude, doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. As a result, St. Jude’s efforts have helped push overall childhood cancer survival rates from 20% in 1962 to more than 80% today.

In addition to this recent donation of land to St. Jude, Paran Homes recently took part in a Toys for Tots drive at its communities and corporate headquarters throughout Metro Atlanta. For the second year in a row, the Southeast homebuilder collected hundreds of new, unwrapped toys for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, with the goal of making the holidays a little bit brighter for even more children in need in the areas surrounding many of its Metro Atlanta communities.

“When we design and build our homes, we have this image in mind of the happy families who will one day live there,” said Marshall. “The truth is that – when faced with financial challenges, childhood illnesses or other catastrophic events – not every day is happy in the lives of so many families. With that in mind, my team and I – many of whom have families of our own – strive to do what we can for all of our neighbors in hopes that one day soon, the happy days will far outweigh the bad. We are so honored to partner with incredible nonprofit organizations like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Toys for Tots who share that same mission.”