House of hope
Holy Rosary Medical Center Foundation embarks on an ambitious fund-raising effort
By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 10:57 AM PDT
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| The Rev. Rob Irwin (second from left), Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Ontario, leads Holy Rosary Medical Center Foundation board members and other project contributors in a blessing Friday morning in the Northview Ranch Subdivision in Fruitland at the site of the planned “House for the Hospital.” |
FRUITLAND — With the help of many local and regional businesses, the Holy Rosary Medical Center Foundation is embarking on its biggest endowment fundraiser ever — building and selling a house.
Friday morning, HRMC Foundation board members and others tied to the project braved a brisk wind to bless the currently empty lot where the house will be built in Northview Ranch Subdivision, Fruitland, in a ceremony led by The Rev. Rob Irwin, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Ontario.
At its completion, targeted for mid-summer, the approximately 15,000 square-foot lot, situated on Poplar Avenue, will hold an approximately 2,000 square-foot house, complete with three bedrooms, two and a half baths and a three-car garage, HRMC Foundation Board President Rick Greif said.
Greif, local businessman and owner of Remax Tri-Cities Realty, has a general contractor’s license for Idaho and was instrumental in getting the project — dubbed a “House for the Hospital,” — off the ground.
He said the project idea originated last summer when HRMC Foundation board members were discussing ways to increase the organization’s endowment funds. The HRMC Foundation, Greif said, is still relatively new, only in its third year, and it needs a significant project to jump-start its income base. With his and other board members’ expertise, the idea to build and sell a house, with significant contributions from various businesses and organizations, came about, Greif said.
“It was something we knew we could pull off,” Greif said, adding it was also an important project the board knew would bring “a substantial chunk of income” to the foundation endowment fund.
Since that time, Greif approached a number of subcontractors he has worked with in the past and asked if they would help participate by donating materials, services or make other contributions.
“The response has just been unbelievable,” he said. “I’ve had a bunch of those where people have just been unbelievably gracious with people offering to help.”
The Fruitland City Council made the latest contribution Monday night when it agreed to waive the building permit, water capacity, sewer capacity and water hook-up fees — a savings of a little more than $5,000.
Other businesses and individuals have donated drafting services, printing services, labor for concrete work, framing, flooring, cabinets, carpeting and landscaping materials and services.
LeRoy Atwood, Fruitland, who works for the agency that manages Pelican Development, the contractors behind Northview Ranch, also played a key role by helping arrange the donation of $25,000 off the lot’s purchase price.
“And it just kind of goes on and on and on in this thing,” Greif said. “I think it’s going to be a good project.”
Greif said he anticipates breaking ground on the project sometime next week, and work will be completed sometime this summer. Greif said, while the initial plan was to auction off the house once it is built, the HRMC Foundation board is debating whether it should sell through a realtor just so the $250,000 price tag could be guaranteed.
He said the foundation hopes, with a $250,000 sale, it will net $150,000 for its endowment fund.
Greif said the Foundation Board is still interested in businesses or individuals contributing through a donation or sponsoring different aspects of the building project.
“We’re certainly not going to turn down a donation because there’s still things that have to be paid for,” he said.
With endowment funds, the foundation has paid for new equipment and remodeling projects for the hospital and sponsored an allergy clinic in the past, and is looking to do more of the same in the future, Greif said.
He said, the Foundation is hopeful this house-building fundraiser will be so successful this year, it can be repeated next year, using another general contractor and a different city to build a house in. Anybody interested in helping with the current project or making a donation to the HRMC Foundation can contact (541) 881-7027 or (541) 881-7007.
