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Charity project raising two roofs

Team Hammerhead is working to make sure that proceeds from a new Showcase Home in Land O'Lakes will benefit All Children's Hospital.

By SEUNG MIN KIM
Published June 14, 2005

LAND O'LAKES - Another new home in Land O'Lakes? So what?

But this one's also quickly accruing money to benefit a local hospital.

The fourth version of Showcase Homes, a program from the Pasco Building Association that donates money to various charities, broke ground Friday in the Groves community, and organizers say fundraising efforts for this home is on track to be the program's most successful.

The reason is the creation of a new group called Team Hammerhead that consists of contractors, vendors, building association members and others that is not only donating construction services to the project but publicizing the fundraising drive.

Add to the mix a slew of events including a Tampa Bay Devil Rays game, festivals, and a silent auction in October designed to raise money for and awareness of Showcase Homes. And organizers said they are closer and closer to realizing their goal of doubling the number of Team Hammerhead members from the current 250 while boosting awareness about the project.

"We've had some great successes in the past and we've had wonderful builders, but I think this one's going to outdo them," said Nita Beckwith, the executive director of the Pasco Building Association.

The Showcase Homes project raises money for charities by partnering with real estate developers who lower construction costs through various donations. The difference between the building expenses and the home's selling price is turned over to the building association, which then hands the money to the designated beneficiary.

This 1,800-square foot, $275,000 Showcase Home has already been sold and will be finished in October, said Sara Nakamine, project coordinator of this Showcase Home and the sales and marketing director for Florida Dream Communities Inc., the home's developer.

About $75,000 has been pledged so far, Nakamine said. The one-story home includes three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a lanai adjacent to the living room.

Proceeds from the courtyard-style Home, located at Shaddock Place in the Groves community in Land O'Lakes, will benefit All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg and its new $300-million facility.

The size of the new hospital and outpatient center will total nearly 1-million square feet, hospital media relations manager Ann Miller said. It is slated to open in fall 2008.

Lisa Richardson, president of the New Port Richey branch of the All Children's Hospital Guild, praised Florida Dream Communities for devising Team Hammerhead and taking the fundraising effort to the "next level."

"It is just an absolutely incredible effort ... to make communities more aware of the hospital and set an example of how others might be creative in the ways they think of finding ways to raise money," she said.

Other Showcase Homes sprinkled throughout Pasco County have raised about $60,000 for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation and All Children's Hospital, Beckwith said.

"The excitement we felt at the barbecue on Friday is an indication that this is going to be a very successful project," Nakamine said. "So many people are calling every day and asking how they can become a member of Team Hammerhead. Along the way, the excitement is just going to grow."

The fundraising goal?

"The sky's the limit," Nakamine said.

--To join Team Hammerhead, call Sara Nakamine at (813) 995-0552.

[Last modified June 14, 2005, 01:27:13]