Builders break ground for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Dream Home Giveaway on Channel 9

CHARLOTTE — Talk about a win-win: one Channel 9 viewer is going to get a brand new home for $100, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is getting millions of dollars for its mission to save kids’ lives and support their families.

We’re partnering up for the 11th annual St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway, which will be on Channel 9 for the first time in 2025.

Crews broke ground Thursday in Marshville. Newton Custom Homes & Realty and DeRhodes Construction will complete a new house to be given away to one lucky viewer.

Only 23,000 raffle tickets will be sold when they go on sale in April. They’ll cost $100 each. In June, Channel 9 will premiere a special presentation when the house and other prizes will be given away live.

Jeff Newton had just started his custom home business when he felt a calling.

“One day I got an email from St. Jude; I thought it was spam,” said Newton, the owner of Newton Custom Homes & Realty. “When I found out it was real, I thought, ‘Count me in, what do I need to do?’”

Newton is about to build his 10th home for free to the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway.

The nationwide program raffles a local home in more than 40 cities, raising millions of dollars.

The money is all going towards an important cause -- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a leader in treating and defeating childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

When a child gets treatment with St. Jude, their families never receive a bill. St. Jude also helps with travel, housing or food so families can focus on helping their child at their flagship hospital in Memphis.

St. Jude has also invented treatments that have improved the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% when it opened in 1962 to more than 80% today.

One of the reasons St. Jude is so effective in helping families is because the majority of its funding comes from individual contributions.

For Newton and his new business partner, Lindsey Debuhr, the first shovel of dirt Thursday capped a decade of passion.

Stick with Channel 9 for updates on the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway, and see stories from the families who have been helped.

You can learn more about St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at this link.

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