Showing off the completed playhouse are Terra Stark; Kahli Kendall, senior buyer; John Hertel; Bill Ware, PSR; Jason Swassing, dealer sales representative; Chris Degnan, director of Commodities & Home Improvement Warehouses; and Joe Wewers, dealer sales rep.
Earlier this year, a Fairfield, Idaho, organization called Camp Rainbow Gold introduced a bold idea: to build six cabins in just three days. Their goal was to increase the safe and accessible housing options at their medical camp, Hidden Paradise.
Hidden Paradise hosts thousands of Idahoans a year, allowing visitors of all ages and abilities to immerse themselves in the magic of nature. Founded and built by Camp Rainbow Gold for pediatric cancer patients and their families to step away from everyday life, Hidden Paradise hosts many other camps, too, and needed new cabins to accommodate growing demand.
The challenge, named Project Gold, sought volunteers and donations to support the three-day build in early August. Construction would be led by builder Corey Barton Homes, which had previously built a whole house in just seven days for the television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” But they still needed a whole lot of help from their community.
“Camp Rainbow Gold’s mission really resonates with us,” says Melinda Stiefel, Distribution marketing and branding manager and chair of our Boise distribution center’s employee-driven community engagement group. “We’re thrilled we were able to play a role in making Project Gold a reality.”
An aerial view of the foundations of the cabins constructed at Hidden Paradise during the three-day build. “The Giving Fund Grant is rewarding for all our employees, not just those on the community engagement team,” Jessica says. “We reported back to our sales and operations partners at our monthly safety meeting, and we got to share the video [below]. Everyone was so excited! We’re all really proud of this effort.”
READY TO RALLY
Boise’s community engagement group, which also includes Jessica Priest, Jason Swassing, Kahli Kendall and Jamie Sisson, was familiar with Camp Rainbow Gold’s reputation for providing crucial support to pediatric cancer patients.
“We all know someone who’s been touched by cancer,” Melinda says. “And it’s even more heartbreaking when a child is diagnosed.”
Camp Rainbow Gold was founded more than 40 years ago as a summer oncology camp for kids and teens who lived with pediatric cancer, and it has since expanded to include events for siblings and entire families.
Our Boise team first heard about Project Gold in May, when one of their largest local dealer customers, Franklin Building Supply, reached out on behalf of Corey Barton Homes, a frequent purchaser of our Trus Joist® materials. CBH and Franklin asked for a large donation of decking materials to be used in Project Gold’s three-day build.
Terra Stark, buyer; Sean Armstrong, inside sales representative; and John Hertel, production planner, work on Boise’s April Habitat for Humanity project to build a playhouse for a local family.
“We weren’t able to donate the volume of material they requested, but we still wanted to support the project,” says Jessica Priest, Boise general manager. “We decided to support them through a monetary donation. But since their plan was to build the cabins Aug. 4 to 6, we had to act fast so the money would be available in time to support their material purchases.”
Jessica connected with Lonni Leavitt-Barker, capital campaign director at Camp Rainbow Gold, to jump-start the giving process. Then, she worked with Katie Hooker, our corporate giving manager, to secure a $5,000 grant.
“Working with our Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund and Katie is always a dream,” Jessica says. “Even though the timeline was short, we were able to get the grant approved and processed, so the builders were all set for the big day.”
John Hertel with Melinda Stiefel, Distribution marketing and branding manager and chair of Boise’s community engagement group, and Sean Armstrong.
FINISHED IN NO TIME FLAT
On Aug. 4, dozens of volunteers from across the Treasure Valley area convened with CBH to break ground on the new cabins. The teams worked day and night, overcoming storms and other delays to complete the build on time. Now Camp Rainbow Gold has an additional 72 beds for campers and their families.
“It blew my mind to see the finished result,” Jessica says. “I got chills. We’re all so grateful to play a small role in a project that will have such a huge impact on our neighbors.”
The new cabins are part of a larger goal to expand and improve Camp Rainbow Gold’s facilities at Hidden Paradise. Two of the cabins are ADA-accessible.
Terra Stark and Jamie Sisson, pricing analyst, peek through a playhouse window.
“Having that medical accessibility is going to be a game-changer for a lot of campers,” Melinda says.
For the Boise team, supporting the project with grant funds doesn’t just contribute to a worthy cause. It also shows customers Corey Barton Homes and Franklin Building Supply that we’re proud of the community work they do, too.
“It’s really cool to support the people who help keep us in business,” Jessica says. “It’s another way to demonstrate how much we value that relationship.”
Watch how the three-day build came together in this video from Camp Rainbow Gold.
