Home With Purpose
March 20, 2026, was an important day for many people, especially children with cancer. This was the day the St. Jude Dream Home Showplace opened its first home in Indiana, built by Old Town Design Group, said Stephanie Dillon, area manager for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The St. Jude Dream Home Showplace is part of a unique program designed to raise money to be donated to St. Jude. In partnership with Old Town Design Group, the initiative is predicted to generate $800,000 for the hospital to help fund cancer research at St. Jude. When the house is sold, 100% of the net profits will go to St. Jude, said Katie Ingersoll, sales coordinator for Old Town Design Group.
Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, ensuring they can focus on the care of their child, Dillon says.
“This is an important moment for our team and our community,” says Matt Huffman, president of Old Town Design Group.
“The St. Jude Dream Home Showplace reflects years of planning and partnership. We’re proud to open the doors and invite people to see what’s possible when craftsmanship and purpose come together,” he says.
“Once we understood the impact St. Jude has on families, the decision was simple,” Huffman says. “If we have the opportunity to use what we do to help children and support their families, we’re all in.”
“The showplace actually launched in 2006. It’s grown; we have completed 23 showcase homes across the country,” Dillon says.
“The Showplace program is essentially in multiple states across the country. A builder in each of those areas will agree to build a home for St. Jude. The builder asks their vendors to donate as much as they can with their time and their efforts. Most of them are family homes in general, but the builder designs the layout and all of the floor plan,” Dillon adds.
“The hospital relies on donations in order to facilitate the research done here and also to treat our families. We need to supply housing and food,” she adds. “This home is the first house built in Indiana, but we have builders in Valparaiso and Fort Wayne that are also participating in the program.”
Many vendors contributed their time, money and craftsmanship to the first home. Some of the vendors include 84 Lumber, ADS Cabinets, Allied Drywall Services, Carter Lumber, Custom Concrete Co., D+D Mouldings & Millwork, Everything Home Design, Ferguson Home, Fritchy’s Lawn Care & Landscaping, Holland Bates Painting, ICC Floors, JMR Builders Group, Marble Uniques, McComb Window & Door Company, Phantom Screens, and Visio Security & Technology Inc.
This program differs from another one called the St. Jude Home Giveaway, which relies on the sale of raffle tickets. People buy raffle tickets to have a chance to win a dream home that will be built. Laws prevent this program in Indiana, Ingersoll says.
“It’s a staged home like most builders. The buyer gets the home itself, not the furniture,” Dillon says. “It’s a really special way to bring the community together.”
