Make an Impact
Are you looking to make an impact this holiday season that will last far longer than anything unwrapped from under the tree? The hope and joy of a wish are the most valuable gift you can give this time of the year. I speak from experience! In my nearly 15 years with Make-A-Wish, I’ve had the pleasure to help grant thousands of life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. By partnering with Home Builders Association’s Charitable and Education Foundation for the A Home for the Holidays house raffle, we’ll be able to grant even more wishes for Northeast Ohio kids, some of whom you’ll learn more about in the coming pages.
Besides wishing for you to win the brand-new home, my wish for Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana is that we grant the wishes of every eligible child. More than 4,000 children will be diagnosed with a critical illness over the coming months. Instead of family gatherings and celebrations, they face hospital stays, harsh treatments and scary surgeries. That’s why wishes are so important, especially this time of year. A wish gives a child with a critical illness and their family hope, and with hope, anything is possible. With every raffle ticket you buy, you can feel good knowing your financial contribution and mission support will be far-reaching, transforming the lives of children, their families and entire communities. On behalf of all of us at Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana, thank you, and we wish you happy holidays!
SINCERELY,
The
trusted protection your customers deserve.
Hardie® fiber cement products are specifically engineered to resist damage from fire, water, weather, pests, and time, giving your customers a look they’ll love with added peace of mind.
Stephanie McCormick President & CEO
Make-A-Wish® Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana
Siding | Trim | Soffit
Chuck Brunello Jr. Mayor/Safety Director City of Highland Heights
A Message from the Mayor
The City of Highland Heights, along with our 8,750 residents, encompasses a perfect balance of neighborhoods, green space and businesses, with easy access to Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland Hopkins Airport and other regional offerings. This balance distinguishes Highland Heights as a convenient, familyfriendly and safe place to work, reside and raise children while affording residents the opportunity to enjoy additional amenities available nearby. We are proud of our 5-star rated public school district, excellent safety forces, community programs and recognition by Cleveland Magazine as a Top 5 suburb in Cleveland.
We are delighted that the Home Builders Association of Greater Cleveland’s Charitable & Education Foundation and Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana have chosen Highland Heights, providing an opportunity for someone to win a dream home in our Grappa Farms development. This project also provides educational opportunities for students considering a career in the building trades within the Mayfield City Schools’ Learn and Earn Program. It is a sincere privilege to be associated with this charitable endeavor that grants life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses and helps to relieve the traumatic stress associated with their diagnoses.
The City of Highland Heights is grateful to the Home Builders Association’s Charitable and Education Foundation, JEMM Construction and Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana for allowing us to help support this philanthropic and compassionate initiative.
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NORTHEAST OHIO’S
Most Trusted Roofer
Family Owned & Operated Since 1981
SENDING YOU WARM WISHES... AND DINNERS , THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!
Win a Home for the Holidays or Cash Prize
Your ticket purchase benefits HBA of Greater Cleveland’s Charitable & Education Foundation and Make-A-Wish.
The Cleveland Home Builders Association is once again partnering with Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana to raffle off a custom home, this time in Highland Heights.
The $799,000-plus, 2,500-square-foot European style ranch will feature three bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a three-car attached garage, and is located in the Grappa Farms development.
Tickets are $100 each with raffle proceeds benefiting Make-A-Wish OKI and HBA’s Charitable and Education Foundation.
Since the Home for the Holidays raffle began five years ago, over $750,000 has been raised for Make-A-Wish’s efforts to grant wishes to children with critical illnesses, as well as for the HBA’s Charitable and Education Foundation that provides scholarships and supports workforce development programs and other local charities.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
BUY A TICKET
Ticket
$100, with no purchase limit
Online HBAHomeForTheHolidays.org By phone
216-447-8700
Goal
15,000 tickets
TOUR THE HOME
In person
217 Grappa Farms, Highland Heights, Ohio 44143
Virtually HBAHomeForTheHolidays.org
WINNING
TICKET
Winning ticket will be drawn on Dec. 31, 2024
Winner will be notified by phone, email and certified mail
A Wish is Hope
Brave and resilient, these Wish Kids inspire their families and communities as role models for pushing through critical illness. BY KRISTEN HAMPSHIRE
“With hope, anything is possible,” says Stephanie McCormick, president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana (OKI). She adds that the wishes supported by organizations including the HBA’s Charitable & Education Foundation through it’s A Home for the Holidays campaign “are a magical, powerful medicine.”
“Emotions and attitude are everything, and when times are tough, these kids get to reflect back on that wish, that moment, the journey they took with their family that was special or look in their own backyard at a new playground,” McCormick says.
A Make-A-Wish impact study showed wishes help relieve traumatic stress, empower kids who are faced with a critical illness and even improve compliance with treatment, therefore keeping them healthier for longer.
Now in its fifth year of supporting MakeA-Wish OKI, the HBACEF has helped grant more than 75 wishes and raised $750,000 for the organization with a goal to surpass the $1 million mark this year, says Brenda Callaghan, executive director.
Here, brave wish kids and their families share their inspiring stories.
Connecting Young Warriors
Addison Oberhouse stood in front of the mirror getting ready for school her sophomore year. “I had a new necklace, and when I put it on, it was fitting weird and was lopsided,” she says.
Confused, she tried to reposition it, adjusting the chain, when she discovered a golf ball-sized lump on the left side of her neck. “I don’t know how I didn’t notice it before,” says Oberhouse, 18 and now a senior at Monclova Christian Academy in Toledo.
The situation swiftly advanced to a doctor’s visit followed by a CT scan, then the hospital.
“They told us they found a mass in your chest, and they think it is cancerous,” the Oberhouses told Addison.
Shocked, scared and partially in denial, she said, “I’m driving myself to the hospital. I’m fine.”
Oberhouse is a four-season athlete with grit. She had no idea how much of her personal push and stamina would be required
I shut my door and cried, and even though I remember thinking, ‘God’s got me,’ it felt real.”
— Addison Oberhouse
to undergo treatment for Hodgkin Lymphoma, the diagnosis that bloodwork unveiled after about a week of waiting.
She recalls spending time with a friend the week she learned the news. “Should we?” they exchanged a glance while looking at the empty search engine. Consulting Dr. Google is often a rabbit hole, opening up endless what-ifs.
“The fact that there was even a survival rate listed is what scared me,” she says. “I thought, ‘How is it that I got cancer?’ I shut my door and cried, and even though I remember thinking, ‘God’s got me,’ it felt real.”
It turns out, a baseball-sized mound in Oberhouse’s chest had been growing for about two to four years and was dangerously close to her heart, so surgery to remove it was off the table. She immediately moved into a treatment protocol of potent chemotherapy every two weeks, which left her mouth “feeling like battery acid” to the extent that she’d spend the following four days after treatments sucking on ice cubes. She enrolled in a clinical trial combining chemo with immunotherapy.
“It was kind of scary because it was a trial, but I was thankful for it,” she says.
After six months of treatment, Oberhouse was pronounced cancer-free, and she met the one-year mark in October. This past May, her wish was granted. It was to bring together young survivors for a day of hanging out and self-care, including assembling care packages for the hospital to deliver to new cancer patients as a token of understanding. Every gift bag had a card attached with her cell phone information and social media handles.
She and others who weathered the cancer journey during the time she did gathered at the cancer support organization, The Victory Center. They created Zen gardens, enjoyed reflexology, picked out wigs at the on-site shop and just talked.
She’s building a meaningful support network following her experience and with the help of the wish. Today, Oberhouse reports she is feeling “very good” and back on the volleyball court. But, she adds, “I don’t think I will ever not think about the experience.”
Persisting Through Treatment
“When something is wrong with your child, you know,” says Ashley Wolfe, explaining the shooting pain in her son Finn’s leg that would come and go. “When it came, he was in agony, and nothing helped — not heating compresses and not Motrin.”
The biting sensations in his left leg “felt like a bone was hurting,” Finn told his mother. He was in pre-kindergarten at the time, and his teacher would call Wolfe and report that her son was lethargic. “He was laying around during recess time, and that is not our son.”
After taking Finn to get bloodwork — and several back-and-forth trips to the pediatrician — Wolfe noticed her son’s lips had turned a blue-gray color. They were still waiting for results, and the doctor had hinted at leukemia, suggesting the family make a hematology appointment in the meantime.
But before this appointment, the bloodwork arrived along with the doctor’s orders to go to the emergency room. Finn was diagnosed with leukemia on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, and after further testing, physicians determined its type: acute B-cell. “We are very fortunate because it is a common type and very treatable, but it’s still a two- to three-year plan,” Wolfe relates.
Finn spent 17 days in the hospital getting blood transfusions and care to stabilize him while doctors and nurses kept a close watch on his absolute neutrophil count (ANC), a measure of the white blood cell type that helps the body fight infection. It needed to reach the 500 level, and he was far off.
During this time, Finn underwent surgery for a mediport, which is still the gateway by which he receives spinal chemotherapy and will for an undetermined amount of time. In addition, the medical team can draw blood, and Finn can get blood transfusions and platelet transfusions through the mediport. He also gets an intrathecal methotrexate (chemotherapy administered like a spinal tap) every three months. He continues an oral chemo medication daily, and on Fridays there are two pills to swallow.
I don’t want parents to diminish a feeling their kid is having, because it could be very serious.”
— Ashley Wolfe
Even this part of treatment was a learning curve, because though Finn is now 6, he hadn’t learned to swallow a pill until he had to fight his cancer. “The nurses helped teach him by using candies, and it took some time, and there’s a taste factor that goes along with the treatment,” Wolfe says. Throughout treatment, the Wolfes tried to introduce a sense of normalcy at home, but that wasn’t easy. Finn loves to draw, especially characters from some of his favorite YouTube shows and games like Garten of Banban, along with faces from Minecraft and Super Mario Brothers. Wolfe admires his strength — he’s a young role model.
But in reality, Finn has had to live an incubator life in many ways. School parties during his initial more intensive chemo were out of the question. If he runs a temperature, this means a trip to the ER. “Once he was okayed to start kindergarten, I was very nervous,” Wolfe reflects.
Germ is a four-letter word.
But so is love.
Going back to her gut that something just wasn’t right, Wolfe encourages parents to blow the whistle and never second-guess their instincts. “I don’t want parents to diminish a feeling their kid is having, because it could be very serious,” she says, noting that Finn’s cancer could have traveled to his spinal cord or brain had it not been diagnosed until later.
Finn has a younger brother named Barrett, who has also been traveling the up-anddown journey and will be realizing Finn’s wish — along with his parents and an older brother of his father’s — to visit Universal Studios Hollywood‘s Super Nintendo World.
Together, they are on a path to a next chapter. For now, Wolfe says there are opportunities like going to a beach that are not possible because of his immune system. “But he will,” she says. “And I believe that.”
Fight My Journey
You’ll see J’ior on a series of RTA buses because of his super-supporter, mother Shawna Storms. She wants the community
HOUSE OF LIGHTS
to know that everyone can, “Fight My Journey,” which is her first-grader’s invitation — a campaign she’s getting out into the community through a social media handle with the same name.
J’ior was born with a rare disease called biliary atresia, which affects the bile ducts in infants. It can quickly cause liver damage and scarring, eventually leading to liver failure. The first step to avoid a
liver transplant was a Kasai procedure. This is when the blocked bile ducts and the gallbladder are removed and a segment of the small intestine is attached to the liver to allow bile to flow more freely. It’s a highly complex surgery.
For J’ior, the Kasai procedure wasn’t enough, so he had a liver transplant at 17 months of age, only to then acquire a related blood infection followed by another bowel obstruction. Since birth, J’ior and Storms have spent months at a time in the hospital. Any symptom of illness results in getting admitted, she says. It’s one emergency surgery after the next.
Storms has navigated all this as a mom warrior.
Her primary support through the journey has been J’ior’s health care team, and by sharing his story to educate others. She is working to start a foundation called Fight My Journey, and J’ior’s book is available on Amazon. The description reads, “Thanks to my liver transplant donor, I am alive sharing my warrior story
This is why to say, ‘yes,’ to being an organ donor.”
– Shawna Storms
with many other kids around the world who are like me, helping us fight our journey together.”
J’ior and his mom will travel to Disneyland next spring, meeting Storms’ older son who lives in California during the trip. Learning his wish was granted, Storms says her son “was very excited,” and the vacation will provide a welcome escape from everyday challenges.
In the meantime, she presses forward with a message that J’ior represents on billboards, buses and the bureau of motor vehicles as a poster child for Donate Life. She says, “This is why to say, ‘yes,’ to being an organ donor.”
UNLOCK HOPE AND POTENTIAL
BY KRISTEN HAMPSHIRE
“Apinch-me moment” is how Josh Edgell, co-owner of JEMM Construction, Painesville, describes the opportunity to design, build and coordinate skilled trades to construct the HBA’s Charitable & Education Foundation’s A Home for the Holidays house.
The connections are two-fold for many Northeast Ohio HBA members involved — and for members of communities across the region. The fifth annual fundraiser has raised more than $750,000 for Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana
(OKI) with a goal to beat the $1 million mark in raffle ticket sales this year.
The benefit also supports the HBA Charitable and Education Foundation that initiates vital workforce development programs, including the newly launched Pre-Apprenticeship Certified Training Program (PACT). The successful pilot program has grown from six to 30 students at Mayfield High School. The HBA will sponsor at least two more high schools this year, says Brenda Callaghan, HBA Greater Cleveland executive director. Proceeds from the $100 raffle tickets to win a 2,500-square-foot home in Highland
Heights’ Grappa Farms community (or a cash prize) benefit students by offering programs and funding for education opportunities while supporting children diagnosed with critical illnesses and their families.
So far, the HBA of Greater Cleveland has helped Make-A-Wish OKI grant more than 75 wishes, which are valued at roughly $10,000 per experience. There are more than 1,700 children on the waiting list for a wish in this territory, says Stephanie McCormick, the chapter’s president and CEO.
From donated labor to materials, resources and talent, HBA Greater Cleveland members are passionate about creating A Home for the Holidays every year that makes an impact on families during life-changing times of critical illness, while also paving career opportunities to grow the skilled trades.
“For us to help wishes come true for critically ill children in our area is so special to everyone in our organization, because it really brings it home to know what a difference we’ve made in just five years,” Callaghan
says. “If we hit the $1 million mark this year, it will be a truly special celebration.”
Meanwhile, equipping students with the tools and vital skilled trades programming to grow a rewarding livelihood is also life-changing. Students involved in the PACT program engaged in the Make-A-Wish building project during hard hat tours and hands-on involvement guided by mentors.
“It’s important to us to be a great steward to the community and give back, and both giving to Make-A-Wish and helping young kids get into the trades mean quite a bit to us,” says Brian Rutherford, regional manager of the Cleveland division of Gunton Corp./Pella Windows & Doors, which donated nearly $35,000 in materials to the project and has participated since the benefit’s inception.
Exteriors Plus Owner Greg Meyers says the pinch-me moment is real. His company covered more than $25,000 in labor to install James Hardie siding on the raffle home. “If I’m fortunate enough to participate in something this impactful, I’m helping,” he says.
Make Wishes Come True
Win a 2,500-square-foot European-style ranch home with three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a three-car attached garage and luxury finishes built by JEMM Construction, or a cash prize. Valued at $799,000-plus.
Address: 217 Grappa Farms, Highland Heights, Ohio 44143
Tickets: $100 each Winner: Listen for the announcement on Dec. 31, 2024 on News 5. Purchase online: HBAHomeForTheHolidays.org
INSPIRED LIVING IN GRAPPA FARMS
Thoughtful design, high-integrity construction and functional features make this a Home for the Holidays and every day.
BY KRISTEN HAMPSHIRE
The European-inspired modern ranch home JEMM Construction designed and built for the fifth annual Home Builders Association (HBA) of Greater Cleveland A Home for the Holidays raffle is situated in the desirable Grappa Farms neighborhood in Highland Heights — a culde-sac of newly developed properties ranging in value from $750,000 to $2.5 million.
The three-quarter-acre lots offer expansive greenspace and outdoor entertaining opportunities in a location close to golf courses, the Cleveland Metroparks North Chagrin Reservation and everyday conveniences like retail and health care.
With 21 home sites on the quiet street, one of the last two available is 217 Grappa Farms, this year’s home that will be raffled off to benefit Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana (OKI) and the HBA’s Charitable and Education Foundation.
The home is valued at $799,000-plus, and JEMM Construction’s co-owner
Josh Edgell emphasizes that the custom millwork throughout is “a step above.”
“Easy and flexible one-floor living makes this a versatile home,” he adds. “It can be a family house or an empty-nester house, and the location with the school systems, proximity to private schools and shopping is attractive.”
JEMM Construction managed the build from concept to completion with its multidisciplinary in-house team, enlisting HBA colleagues to support labor for installing siding, windows and doors, along with providing materials, finishes and furnishings.
“Working on this project means a lot for me and my company because of all the good it will do,” Edgell says.
ACCOMMODATING AMENITIES
Warmth and functionality topped the priority list when JEMM Construction set a vision for the floor plan and accommodating features that take into
account everyday life, from unloading bulk groceries from a trunk to a pantry to alternative ways to utilize a front-facing bonus room.
Another stand-out feature is how JEMM Construction, in partnership with Lisa Basham at Willoughby-based Helpful Home Staging Design & Rental, reimagined a front room near the entry.
It’s a lounge appointed as a brandy room.
“It could be an office because it is a private space, but we are thinking outside the box and furnishing it with seating around a round coffee table,” Basham says.
Reimagining the space as a room to gather intimately and share conversation inspires other ideas for putting the space to use for the future owner’s needs, whether working, crafting or even creating an additional bedroom.
A CUSTOM APPROACH
With a focus on integrity in design, materials and construction, HBA members contributing to the project introduced the latest innovations in windows, doors, siding and beyond. James Hardie cementfiberboard siding in a cafe au lait tone with rich brown accents is resilient, weather-ready and “can take a hailstone if it needs to,” says Greg Myers, owner, Exteriors Plus, Akron.
“And it is versatile, so if you decide to change the color 10 years from now, you can paint it, unlike vinyl siding,” Myers says.
His company covered an estimated $25,000 in labor for the project while James Hardie’s corporate office also did its part.
Myers points out, “All of our team members are skilled carpenters, and with this product, you have to be very precise with your cuttings.”
Brian Rutherford and Gunton Corp./Pella Windows & Doors supplied the sliding patio door and all the fiberglass windows.
“This is the strongest, most durable material you can buy in a window or door, and it fits well in the neighborhood,” says Rutherford, regional manager. The front windows include a modern grille pattern in brown.
“The windows are low-maintenance and protected by a lifetime warranty for the frame,” Rutherford adds. “They’re durable, look great, function well and Pella conducts air and water tests so we know they will perform well.”
A collaborative effort across trades has resulted in A Home for the Holidays — and every day. A $100 ticket could unlock the doors to this custom-designed property.
HOME HIGHLIGHTS
Apron Hood: In the kitchen, a custom apron-style hood donated by Vidmar Custom Woodworking anchors the space. Its sleek, black finish juxtaposes the white shakerstyle cabinets on either side and along the range wall. Meanwhile, the dark finish repeats on the generous island and breakfast bar area.
Custom Millwork: With 2,506 square feet and voluminous ceilings of varying heights, Edgell says extensive custom millwork helps achieve the warmth and “grounded” feel while capitalizing on the scale. “We incorporated cornice work and walls that are trimmed out by our talented team,” he says, pointing to a tray ceiling in the great room with exposed beams, along with tongue-and-groove feature walls, wainscoting and molding throughout.
Costco Door: The home includes a bulk item door often referred to as a “Costco door” that opens from the garage directly to the walk-in pantry. “It’s a smaller door you can open up to push heavy items into the storage space,” Edgell explains of the trending concept that has gone viral on TikTok and Instagram.
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BBB Accredited Businesses are committed to operating integrity, honoring promise and telling the truth Always look for the BBB Seal, it’ s The Sign of a Better Busi
BBB Accredited Businesses are committed to operating with integrity honoring promises and telling the truth Always look for the BBB Seal, it’ s The Sign of a Better BusinessSM
Photo courtesy of Ingrid Porter Interiors, Stephanie Penick Photography
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