Just One Ticket to Win It!!!
How A Local Family Won a Free Bathroom Remodel and Supported a Cause Close to Their Hearts
Have you ever dreamed of remodeling your bathroom? Who hasn’t? When Deborah Tobias heard that Hurst Design Build Remodel was raffling off a complete bathroom remodel to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), she knew she had to buy a ticket.
Not only did she want to remodel her bathroom, she had very personal reasons for wanting to support LLS. Deborah explained, “My dad fought Leukemia, and passed away at the age of 56 in 2006. My mom also is a Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma survivor. So anytime I get the opportunity, I like to support the LLS cause. My sorority sister, Marisa Terrigno, was on the Hurst Remodeling committee to help raise money, so we participated in the spaghetti dinner and a few other events, along with buying a ticket for the bathroom remodel. I only bought one ticket!”
Pat Hurst, Owner and CEO of Hurst Design Build Remodel and his wife Melissa, who also works at Hurst as the company’s Event Coordinator, have a close connection to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Pat’s mother was diagnosed with CNS Lymphoma in 2003 and lost her heroic battle eight years later.
Pat was asked to be a part of the LLS Visionary of the Year Campaign and he and Melissa assembled a remarkable team of friends and family to join their efforts. They named the team ‘Dream Builders’ to remind themselves that their efforts can positively affect the futures of those diagnosed and their families. In addition to the passing of Pat’s mom, they were affected by Hurst team members, friends, clients, and client’s young children dealing with blood cancers. These personal connections strengthened Pat and Melissa’s strong personal passion to help fight for the cause.
The months-long campaign was comprised of a series of fundraisers including a spaghetti dinner, casino night, a paint and sip party, a 5K run, a golf outing and a yoga and mimosas event. Each event was planned and hosted by a different committee member and each brought people together for a good time. The events also helped educate people on the pervasiveness of blood cancers and the importance of supporting LLS. Thanks to the overwhelming support and generosity of Hurst’s clients, trade partners and vendors the Dream Builders team led by Pat and Melissa raised $168K in total.
The Hurst Bathroom Raffle was the final push of the campaign. Pat and Melissa wanted to do something big that would utilize their unique position as a high-end remodeling company and the idea of the bathroom raffle was born. The entire Hurst Team was proud to create this unique opportunity and to help LLS by offering their time and talents to such an important cause. Many of the Hurst team members had also been personally affected by blood cancers and were enthusiastic to help in this way. Additionally, Pat contacted some of the company’s best suppliers and trade partners to ask them to contribute time and materials and the resulting generosity was unmatched. A huge thank you to the following suppliers and trade partners.
- Kohler - Bathroom Plumbing and Fixtures Donated
- Corsillo - Plumbing Work Donated
- GD PRO - Electrical Work Discounted
- Muscella - Drywall Install and Materials Donated
- Lake Quartz - Cambria countertop Materials Donated
- Virginia Tile - Tile Materials Donated
- Hawk - Painting Donated
The overall value of the bathroom was $30,000!
To publicize the raffle the company promoted it at the local home shows, Pat appeared on morning talk shows, they mailed postcards, utilized social media and asked friends and family to spread the word. In the end, 690 tickets were sold at $50 each raising $34,500 for LLS.
When the day of the drawing arrived, each ticket was put in a raffle drum at the Hurst Design Center in Westlake and the company hosted a Facebook Live event to draw the winning ticket. While Deborah was not able to watch the LIVE event, she quickly learned that she was the lucky winner. “I missed the FB Live drawing, so before Hurst called me, one of my good friends called and told me we won. I was out at a luncheon with other teachers from work, and we were all screaming and excited inside the restaurant! Then when Hurst called me, we all started screaming again. It was very surprising!”
When the project was completed Hurst asked Deborah about her favorite part of the process. Some people enjoy the anticipation of seeing designs come together. Some like the satisfaction of demo getting underway, or the construction phase when all the details start coming together.
Deborah said her favorite phase was the design process: “It was fun and exciting to sit down with Hurst Senior Designer Tammi Graf in the Hurst Design Center. She helped us to choose the best products to create the look we envisioned for our Master Bath. She was a life-saver through the entire project. She spent a lot of time with us to ensure we were completely happy with the end result, and that we did not feel overwhelmed with putting it all together.”
The Tobias bathroom was only eight years old, but they really wanted to change the style and ambiance of the room. Deborah said, “We are so much happier with the way Hurst helped us to envision and create a bathroom that we are excited to walk into every day.”
Hurst was able to completely reimagine the bathroom layout to improve functionality. “We were impressed with how the relocation of the shower and adding a wall created extra space to add more room for the free-standing tub to be installed. We liked all the selections and styles and coordinating accessories Kohler had to offer during the design process. The quality is superior and we are very impressed with all the Kohler products used in our new bathroom.”
“We enjoyed working with the team. If there were any concerns or questions, they were very responsive to us. They were very knowledgeable on their design and remodeling experience and expertise. Hurst actually uncovered a design flaw in our original shower installation that could have caused major damage in the future.”
Deborah and her family were excited to support this important cause through their ticket purchase, but they never thought they would actually hear their name called as the winner. “We never thought we would win. With only buying one ticket, we were so excited to find out our ticket was the lucky one! It was so fun being able to watch it over and over on Facebook, and share it with our friends and family.”
The Tobias family has had some building and remodeling experience. “We had a complete remodel for the first floor of our prior home several years ago, and we also went through the building and design process of our current home. This bathroom project was unique since we were able to focus solely on one room, and we had the help and expertise of the Hurst Design Team. They went above and beyond to help guide us through the project every step of the way.”
“We love the completed space! Our favorite improvements are the stand-alone tub, and the improved shower. We also love the style and colors we selected to create a more modern and tranquil feel for the room. I get a lot of compliments on our crystal chandelier installed over the bathtub to give the bathroom a look of elegance.
We had a great experience with all levels of the Hurst team. From our initial meeting with Pat, to selecting our products with Tammi, and working with our project manager Mike. It was a great team effort and we appreciate all that they did for us to complete our bathroom project. The BuilderTrend App. was awesome and helpful detailing everything they did each day including pictures, comments, and the project calendar. It was also an easy way to send questions and concerns so that everyone on the project was informed and involved.”
Pat and Melissa’s commitment to the LLS mission continues with their strong support the LLS Dare to Dream Project. Melissa Hurst explains, “We have too many people in our life who have lost children to cancer. Close personal friends as well as people in our community. We also have seen the effects that treatment for childhood cancers has on adults. The long term side effects can be debilitating. There have only been SIX new pediatric treatments introduced since the 50s! Eighty percent of children treated for cancer will struggle with some kind of physical or cognitive long term side effect. We do not believe this is acceptable and neither does LLS.”
“The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society recognizes that a one-size treatment does not fit all. The Dare to Dream Project is a campaign to raise an urgent $175 million to transform pediatric treatment and care. Their research will affect change in all ALL pediatric cancer treatments not just blood cancers. They are prioritizing cutting-edge pediatric research. In addition they promote advocacy and provide resources and support to help even more young blood cancer patients and survivors live longer and have a better quality of life.”
Pat and Melissa Hurst remain committed to LLS. Melissa will be chairing the 2025 Visionary Campaign with the hopes of raising 1.2 million dollars. That money will stay in the Northeast Ohio area and help with research being done right here in Cleveland. It will also go toward helping patients cover costs for things like transportation, deductibles, medication, and other related expenses. They will also advocate for patients who need help finding care. Melissa said, “We strongly believe in the mission of LLS and are proud to join the fight to end blood cancer.”
Pat Hurst shared, “This experience with the LLS Visionary of the Year Campaign has brought great pride to our family and our entire company. We are dedicated to helping LLS and their life-saving and life-changing mission. We had a great time raising funds through events attended by so many generous people. The Bathroom Raffle was a great way for us to do what we do best - but do it for such a worthy cause. We are so happy that the Tobias family had the winning ticket and so grateful for all of those who helped support this effort along the way. We will continue our efforts in the coming months and years and cannot wait to share our plans with the community.”