You Tour, Charities Score

Meet the organizations that will benefit from tour proceeds of the 417 Idea Home.

Tours of the 417 Idea Home will be on August 21-24 and 28-31. Are you as excited as we are? If you’re interested in catching a glimpse of the gourmet kitchen, the infinity edge pool and the many magnificent Branson views, you should come tour the 417 Idea Home on one of those August days. Your $15 ticket won’t only give you a chance to get behind the gates of the elaborate Branson Hills Community; it’ll also score you a one-year subscription to 417 Home and, most importantly, make you a contributor to those in need.

417 Magazine and 417 Home are partnering with two local charities, the Skaggs Foundation and the Ozarks Regional YMCA, to lead the 417 Idea Home tours. Staff and volunteers from each charity will help guests tour the home and, in return, their organizations will receive money from the ticket proceeds. The two charities will split the money they raise 50/50, but to make the planning process a little easier, each charity has an assigned weekend when they’ll take charge.

If you tour the home anytime during August 21–24, you’ll be working with staff and volunteers of the Skaggs Foundation, and if you tour anytime during August 28–31, you’ll be greeted by staff and volunteers of the Ozarks Regional YMCA. Wondering why you should help these foundations? We’ll tell you a little about them.

Ozarks Regional YMCA

The Ozarks Regional YMCA (orymca.org) includes the Springfield Downtown YMCA and Pat Jones YMCA, as well as the Bolivar, Cassville, Hollister and Monett locations. The organization’s mission is to promote Judeo-Christian values through programs that build healthy spirits, minds and bodies for all. From young children who participate in after-school activities to seniors who treat their arthritis in the hot tub, the YMCA really does have a little something for everyone. Unfortunately, not all individuals or families can afford to pay membership dues. That’s why the Ozarks Regional YMCA (and many others across the country) offers the scholarship assistance program.

This program assists qualified participants with up to 90 percent of program or membership costs. Rhoda Clark, director of development of the Ozarks Regional YMCA, says all of the money raised with the 417 Idea Home partnership will be used to provide financial aid to children and families through these scholarships. The YMCA believes no one should be denied programs or services due to financial issues. “We don’t turn anyone away or deny anyone because of an inability to pay,” Clark says. Aside from those who request assistance, the YMCA also provides a 100-percent scholarship to all families with a foster child or foster children, and to any family with a spouse serving abroad in the military.

Candy Arvizu, a foster mother and Missouri State Departmental Academic Advisor, says her children’s experiences at the YMCA were life-changing. “My two boys were struggling in school, and they were starting to suffer from low self-esteem,” Arvizu says. “When they became involved with the Y’s soccer and flag football programs, they were praised for being the fastest and best on their teams.” Arvizu credited the YMCA scholarship program for her children’s newfound friends and better self-esteem.

The Idea Home: 417 Magazine and 417 Home found a team of the brightest to build a dream home in Branson Hills. The concept is to construct a house in which subcontractors apply the latest technology, use the best products and apply the utmost creativity. We call it the 417 Idea Home. When it’s all said and done in summer 2008, Marc and Petie Williams will just call it home. You can see the finished product at a home tour to benefit Skaggs Foundation and the Ozarks Regional YMCA. (The tour is August 21-24 and 28-31, noon–6 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays) For more info, visit 417homemagazine.com.

The Skaggs Foundation

The Skaggs Foundation (skaggs.net) operates with one sole mission: to develop relationships and financial resources to support the healthcare programs, projects and services of Branson’s Skaggs Community Health Center. Rodney Arnold, executive vice-president of the Skaggs Foundation, says the money raised with the 417 Idea Home partnership will be designated to scholarship recipients of the Skaggs Community Health Center’s new cancer center.

Although many procedures are already taking place, the new cancer center is scheduled to be operating in full-force by mid-summer. It will offer patients many treatments that, before the center was built, were not available in Branson. Some treatments it will offer include outpatient infusion and chemotherapy, inpatient medical oncology, surgical oncology and oncology imaging and radiation therapy.

Not surprisingly, Arnold says cancer patients are often overwhelmed with stress, and helping them pay for their procedures takes a huge load off of their shoulders. He also says there are plenty of patients in need. “We typically treat seven to eight chemotherapy patients per day, and that’s going to increase,” he says. “And we expect to treat 10 to 15 radiation patients a day soon, too.” Of these patients, many qualify for financial assistance.

You Can Help

Whether you’d like to help out cancer patients of the Skaggs Community Health Center or a qualifying family of the Ozarks Regional YMCA, touring the 417 Idea Home will help you do so. Plus, you’ll get to journey through a 10,000-square-foot home filled with ideas and inspiration, which is quite the bonus (we think at least). So take a trip down to Branson and help out these charities, and enjoy the tour while you’re at it. It’ll be worth your while.

If you’d like to volunteer to help the Ozarks Regional YMCA or the Skaggs Foundation give tours, you can register and get more information at 417mag.com. All who volunteer will be entered to win a one-year subscription to 417 Magazine, and 20 winners will be drawn after the tours are completed.