Habitat for Humanity raffling playhouse

The Greater Fairfield Area Habitat for Humanity is raffling off a custom-built playhouse this summer.

The playhouse will make its debut at Fairfield 1st Fridays Art Walk today. Raffle tickets will be sold at the art walk for $25 per ticket or five for $100. The playhouse will travel from the art walk to the Hy-Vee parking lot, where it will spend the rest of July.

The playhouse will come back to the square for the August art walk and then relocate to the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center. In September, it will again be at the art walk and then at the Jefferson County Health Center until Kiwanis Kid?s Day on Sept. 17. The winning ticket will be drawn on the square during Kiwani?s Kids Day.

Larry Warner and Jeff Small built the playhouse with donated materials from Doud?s Lumber, Keosauqua Lumber and Carrol Lumber. Suzan Kessel, Nancy Horras, Jen Larsen, Christie Kessel, and Emily Gleason painted the house with paint donated by Finishing Touch. The exterior is bright yellow with green shutters and window boxes and a tangerine dutch door. The interior is hand stamped and has decorative features painted by local artists Suzan Kessel and Nancy Horras. Jamie Kuiken created the window treatments as a finishing touch.

Tickets may be purchased during the July, August and September art walks and at Finishing Touch, Adela?s, MidWestOne Bank?s downtown location, and Iowa State Bank?s Fourth Street location. Tickets will be on sale until Sept. 17. The value of the playhouse is estimated at $3,000.

All proceeds from the raffle will go to sponsor Greater Fairfield Area Habitat for Humanity?s future projects. Habitat partners with people in need to build and renovate decent, affordable housing. Partner families invest hundreds of hours of labor building their homes and the homes of others. They purchase their home with a no-profit mortgage that has no interest charges. Mortgage payments go into a revolving fund that is used to build more homes. The local organization has just completed its ninth home.