Build for a Cure house built in 28 days to help children's cancer research

When 13-year-old Thomas Fisher was given the chance to go and look around the house his carpenter dad Kevin had been helping build, he jumped at it. But it meant more, far more, to him than simply admiring his handiwork.

“I think he loved seeing it for what it stands for,” says Kevin Fisher, 37. “And I felt the same. I knew I was always going to work on this house no matter what other work I had to give up to make the time.”

The house is the third “Build for a Cure” home, constructed entirely by volunteers over 28 days, and to be auctioned on October 22 to raise funds for the Children’s Cancer Institute. It was finished and opened to the public for the first time on Sunday with TV’s The Block star Scott Cam, the ambassador of Build for a Cure, a special guest at the family fun day.

Thomas, a leukaemia survivor, who was diagnosed at 5 years old, has taken a keen interest in fundraising events over the years, and this was no exception. “It wasn’t a sad moment, I think we both felt good about it,” says Kevin, also the father of Ellie, 10, and six-year-old twins Will and Jack.

“Thomas has done a few things before, like a toy drive, to raise money, and he enjoyed seeing the house. Happily, he’s in remission, so I think that time he was sick is starting to drift back in his memory.”

The anticipated $680,000-plus from the auction of the fully-furnished, two-storey, four-bedroom home at Walker Corporation’s newest community, Appin Place in Appin, in Sydney’s south-west, will fund vital research for the institute.

With the build organised by McDonald Jones Homes, it was furnished for free by Winning Appliances, Fisher & Paykel and Freedom and the real estate services are being donated by Di Mez Real Estate and The Block celebrity auctioneer Damien Cooley.

David Woollcott, the CEO of Winning Appliances, which has provided the appliances, knows perhaps more than most what the parents of children with cancer go through.

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When he was 11 years old, his big sister was diagnosed with a brain tumour and had to go through life-saving surgery. “It was horrendous for her, for the family and for everyone who knew us,” says Mr Woollcott.

“So we feel very passionately how desperately important it is to do more and more research so that, one day, cancer can be a thing of the past. I don’t think there’ll be any Australian family who hasn’t been affected by cancer at some point, and it’s up to all of us to do as much as we can to help.”

The owner of the company, John Winning, is another case in point. He lost his grandmother to brain cancer and last year climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for neurosurgeon Professor Charlie Teo’s Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.

“We’re regularly involved in charity work, and this in particular is a very good cause,” says Mr Woollcott. “It’s been an emotional experience, especially meeting the three families of children with cancer at the reveal day.”

Dianne Meznaric didn’t hesitate to volunteer the real estate services of her local company Di Mez Real Estate when she heard about the project. “Childhood cancer is just so heartbreaking,” she says. “When you hear the stories of those affected, everyone wants to volunteer.

“It has also been an amazing opportunity to pull together as a community for such a great cause and to give back something. And it’s such a beautiful house, with so many upgrades and extras, I’m encouraging as many people as possible to take a look.

“We’d love to raise a million dollars! It’s so humbling to be involved in something like this. I’m blubbering now!”

Along with the construction of the house, people can go on the Build for a Cure website and make a donation by buying a virtual gold brick, which will put them into a draw for a $30,000 home furnishing package.

buildforacure.org.au