Celebs Snap Up Luxury SPF-Insulated Playhouses at Auction for Tennessee Children’s Charity
MOUNT AIRY, NC–September 3, 2013–Tucker's House, a nonprofit organization based in Franklin, TN, raises money to retrofit and modify houses for the care and therapy of profoundly disabled children in the Middle Tennessee area. Their big fundraiser, held Aug. 16, auctioned off custom designed and built backyard playhouses to some interesting buyers: Nicole Kidman, TobyMac, Sheryl Crow, and this year, Mike Wolfe, co-host of the popular History Channel show, American Pickers, and owner of Antique Archeology with stores in Iowa, and Nashville, TN., who purchased the "best in show" winner.
"These playhouses are mind-blowing," says Darron Haralson of ISOM, LLC, the local Franklin company tapped to provide insulation for Wolfe's playhouse. "This year there was a log cabin, a lake house, an old grocery store, and a schoolhouse. The playhouse Mike Wolfe bought—the one we were chosen to insulate—was this little amazing white country home by Tim Fritsch of Fritsch Design Build. It's 10 ft. x 12 ft. with a sleeping loft, herringbone oak floors, and accordion doors, an oak swing, and InsulStar closed-cell SPF insulation.Tucker's House Playhouse Charity SPF Insulation
"We were so moved by what Tucker's House does we donated the spray foam insulation and our time and services to insulate this playhouse. Last year for the first charity auction we used NCFI's open-cell spray foam, Sealite, on the "best of show" playhouse purchased by Sheryl Crow. This year we used NCFI's higher density closed-cell foam InsulStar. We sprayed 2 inches on the roof deck, and 1.5 inches in the wall cavities. Just like a regular home. I guarantee you the kids will be warm in the winter and cool in the summer in that playhouse. We choose NCFI's spray foam because it's the best on the market and combines high Rvalue, with consistency of quality—it's an air-barrier, water barrier, and adds tothe comfort and health of the space."
Tucker's House works to retrofit and modify existing homes for families of profoundly disabled children in the Middle Tennessee area. "A bathroom alone can cost on average $5,000," says Sunny Rosanbalm, CEO and founder. "And that's with many of the materials donated. We're not just talking ramps and widening doors, but also redesigning the spaces, moving walls, adding roll-in showers, handrails, special equipment for daily therapies, and so much more. The costs can really grow and we're a small nonprofit."
Rosanbalm's grandson, Tucker, who is disabled as a result of Infantile Spasms shortly after birth, is the inspiration for the organization. "My husband, Mike, is a builder and I'm a designer, and even we were daunted when Tucker was threeand-a-half and we tarted planning to redesign our home so we could help take care of him. Wider doorways, ramps, changing flooring so wheelchairs and walkers can transition from room to room, wheelchair accessible shower, and so many other design features are needed. We learned so much from our own project, that when we finished we knew other families needed the kind of experience, skills, and financial resources we'd discovered, so we started Tucker's House. Families with a special needs child spend so much on medical, therapy and equipment needs, special training, school, childcare etc., that often the last thing they have money for is home modification.
She says the board of directors is thrilled at the response to the playhouse auction. "We're blessed so many people—like Sheryl Crow who bought two—want these playhouses and want to help our mission. They really are wonderful and the builders who donate them are the best. We appreciate every dollar we get to help families directly and partner with other organizations like Habitat for Humanity."
Rosanbalm says the need is prolific, and she is forced to turn away calls from as far as Washington State and Minnesota. "I wish we could help these families all across the country. I know, from experience, how much they need help. Making the house equipment-accessible and therapy-friendly helps not only the child, but also the entire family to overcome the isolation that comes with the exasperation of doing simple things like getting out to go shopping or taking the child to a park. The properly designed and modified home needs to provide that kind of comfort as the child grows into an adult."
For more information about NCFI or Tucker's House, please use the contact details and links provided below.
About Tucker's House: Tucker's House is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has been developed to partner with families of children with disabilities and their healthcare providers to provide assistance in navigating the complex path from diagnosis to home through specialized retrofitting resources so that their houses can become "home". We assist families in accessing resources that can help meet their specific immediate, intermediate and long term needs that make their home a place that is not only accessible and safe but where they can carry out their necessary daily therapy.
About NCFI: NCFI, headquartered in Mt. Airy, NC since 1964, manufactures polyurethane foam chemical systems for spray foam-in-place insulation (SPF), geotechnical, agricultural, roofing, marine floatation, packaging, specialty molding, and many other uses. The company also offers a complete line of flexible foams for Tucker's House Playhouse Charity SPF Insulation furniture seating, transportation seating, bedding, carpet underlay, and packaging. NCFI also has manufacturing plants in Hickory, N.C., Dalton, GA., and Salt Lake City, UT.
