Teenagers give back to community through ideas, design and construction

When Freeport High School teacher Ted Missildine approached his Freeport High School energy class about a community service project, he left it up to them to decide what it would be. With very little research, the students quickly voted on supporting the local Children’s Volunteer Health Network (CVHN) Cottages For Kids fundraiser. Cottages For Kids are locally fabricated playhouses donated to CVHN. In turn, the cottages are raffled to raise funds for the non-profit organization. CVHN’s mission is to enhance the lives of uninsured and underinsured children by facilitating free access to medical, dental and mental health care.

After looking at several designs and ideas, the class found a wooden toy seaplane photograph on a Google search. They all agreed it would fabricate into a great playhouse. The photo was blown up and the ball started rolling.

With engineering expertise needed, Randy Wise Homes came into the play becoming a sponsor of the project. Supplying renderings, materials, technical support and a few tricky angle cuts, Randy Wise Homes added everything needed to make the project a reality.

“This project was very special to me, watching the teenagers do this for the kids,” said Caleb Wise.

Soon Missildine’s Key Club teenagers got involved and by the time the playhouse was finished, 40 students had worked on the project after school and on the weekends.

The seaplane debuts Nov. 12 at the Cottages for Kids kickoff event that runs through Nov. 26 in Rosemary Beach.  The cottages will be on display on the East Long Green in Rosemary Beach. Gates will be open Nov. 12-13-, 19-20-, 24-25  from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Raffle winners will be announced at 2 p.m. on Nov. 26.

For more information on purchasing a raffle ticket, go to  www.cottagesforkids.org