Hand-built fire truck will raise funds for local children in need
Each summer for the past seven years, the entire community has looked forward to the unveiling of the Montcalm Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) playhouse, hand-built by the Building Trades Program crew at Carson City Regional Correctional Facility specifically for this special annual fundraiser.
“Since 2006, we’ve enjoyed the amazing gift that the Building Trades Program has given us with an amazing playhouse every year,” said Kristi Jeffrey, Montcalm CASA Program Coordinator. “They’ve built us such a unique variety of great playhouses to raffle off to the community to raise funds for CASA – from simple, elegant play structures to an attention-getting pirate ship. One year, they even built a playhouse that looked like a train, with a caboose and everything, which the winner donated to Lakeside Village Park in Lakeview.”
This year, the playhouse is a show-stopper – a highly detailed playhouse in the form of a real fire truck, completely made of wood, including the wheels, the firehose, and the ladders.
“This is so great for CASA because the Building Trades Program donates so much for this program – the tools, the labor, the fantastic craftmanship, and the amazing blueprints that the designs are based on – which allows us to have this truly unique fundraiser each year,” said Jeffrey. “And we truly appreciate the lumber donated for the project by Carson City Lumber, the Grande du Michigan La Societe de 40 Hommes et 8 Chevaux, the Sheridan VFW, and the American Legion in Carson City.”
Montcalm CASA provides volunteer advocates to speak on behalf of abused and neglected children in the foster care system in Montcalm County. The program works with an average of 35 children each year who’ve been identified by the court system as needing advocacy for what is in their best interest in what can often be very difficult situations.
“This year is a particularly special year for this playhouse raffle because the Building Trades Program at Carson City Regional Correctional Facility has been discontinued due to state budget cuts,” said Jeffrey. “We’re very saddened by the loss of this partnership that helped so many children in our area, and we’re not sure what we’ll do next year. All we can do is focus on really making this a fantastic fundraiser this year and hope we receive a lot of participation from the community.”
The playhouse is currently on display at Carson City Lumber in Carson City, and will be displayed at various venues throughout the county from now until the raffle drawing is held on Wednesday, September 28. Raffle tickets will be available soon at all area Chemical Bank branches, Carson City Lumber, and other locations. Tickets are $5 apiece or five for $20.
Visit www.montcalmcasa.org for a full list of ticket locations and to see more photographs of the fire truck playhouse. For more information, contact Kristi Jeffrey at 989-831-3561 or montcalmcasa@8cap.org.