Home Improvement Starts in the Heart

The Playhouse Project

If you have logged more hours of HGTV than Joanna Gaines, then this might be the perfect family opportunity for you. The Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity Playhouse Project is an inspiring outlet for heart and creativity. Groups volunteer to build little playhouses for children who want them but whose family can’t afford to buy or build one. The materials and basic concepts are designed for every level of DIY experience and provide a blank canvas for volunteers to get creative in building and decorating a playhouse. 

“Inspiring homeownership at an early age,” the tagline found on the volunteer website, speaks to the vision behind the program. To provide children with their own space in which they can play, dream, and imagine. 

Imagining is the first step to planning for the future. If a child can imagine a future in a beautiful and inspiring home then their future is wide open. Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity provides a way for those who want to inspire and those who need to be inspired. Michael McIntyre, Executive Director for the Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity, shares some insight about the Playhouse Project:

Tell me about the Playhouse project. 

“[The] Playhouse Project is Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity’s signature event that helps build a blessing in children’s lives. Area companies help support Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity by sponsoring a playhouse. The company is provided with design criteria from a family’s application. From there, the team plans out how they may design and build the playhouse to “WOW” the children. And it seems to work every time. Some designs have been super elaborate. For instance, this year we had a Giant Unicorn, an awesome Firehouse, a Transformer, other great designs, and some with complete furnishings. Tremendous generosity was shown by area companies.”

How and when did it start?  

“This is the third year of the Playhouse Project Blitz Build for us that is staged at the concourse at Fifth Third Field. Like with so many things at Habitat for Humanity, we are really good with ‘sharing.’ This event and concept were borrowed from Habitat for Humanity of East Bay California and Silicon Valley. We have trained and shared it with other Habitat affiliates in Ohio, like the Columbus Habitat for Humanity.  It’s really taking off.”

Whose idea was it?  

“We had been watching the concept evolve over the past few years, and in 2018 we wanted to launch our first Blitz Build at Fifth Third Field. Leading the way on the idea was a mix of exuberant Habitat Pro Volunteers and our Development Staff. Ultimately it was a volunteer team from Leadership Toledo that helped plan the event, and cement it to occur at Fifth Third Field, which has been awesome.”

Why did they come up with this project?  

“Building homes is core to our mission. Since this is also a fundraiser, we like to say, ‘Little houses help build big houses.’  We raise enough money for this project to fund one new build or rehab and sell the home to a partner family with a 0% interest loan. Conceptually, it’s a great fit for us.”

What are some highlights of work done in the past for Playhouse?  

While the efforts and support from the area companies that sponsor the Playhouses have been awesome, the fact that they are building for area children who have demonstrated a need for a playhouse is really special. At the end of the build, when the children walk out from left field to see their personalized playhouse, it is an awe-inspiring moment. 

How has the current pandemic affected the work?  

The pandemic has definitely impacted things. We had tremendous enthusiasm for more teams earlier this year, but with Covid, understandably, some companies were not ready to volunteer at this time. We made a lot of adjustments to the planning and scheduling to be safe and distanced. Last year sponsors built 30 houses in one day, this year they built 24 houses spread out over two days with smaller sized teams. It was the right thing to do, and it was a very successful event.

What does the future look like for the project?  

While some local companies love going to the big event downtown, other companies have felt more comfortable having us bring a playhouse kit to their company so they can build in their parking lot or place of business. It’s a great way to stay involved in the community and a team-building event. We expect to do more of those this year, and hold an even bigger Blitz in 2021. By building more of these houses, we are planting the seeds of homeownership with children of our community. And everyone knows, you can never have too many Unicorn Playhouses in our community!

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