Playhouse winner gives it to neighboring family

The raffle for the Greater Area Fairfield Habitat for Humanity?s fundraising playhouse was held at the Kiwanis Kids? Day Parade on the square.

Kiwanis member, Curt Hansen selected the winning ticket, and Don Cummings was the winner.

Cummings, a State Farm insurance agent said, ?I bought a couple of tickets as a donation to habitat. I never expected to win. I never win anything.?

He decided not to keep the playhouse as his children are adults. It was an easy decision to give the house to his next-door neighbors, the Gerdes family. Cummings took some photos of the playhouse, showed them to neighbor Nathan Gerdes, and asked if he would like the playhouse for his family. Gerdes enthusiastically accepted.

Habitat board member John Loin with son Noah brought the playhouse to the Gerdes home. Nathan Gerdes met them with a fork lift and helped take the playhouse off the trailer that it had toured Fairfield on for the past three months, while his children watched with excitement.

?Those kids will have years of enjoyment with that playhouse,? said Cummings. ?And we will have fun watching them.?

All proceeds from the raffle will go to sponsor Greater Fairfield Area Habitat for Humanity 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 Greater Fairfield Area Habitat has just completed its ninth home.