At Rufty Homes, giving back to the community is a priority for every single one of our team members. We look for opportunities to support organizations with causes that are not only important to our staff members, but to our clients as well. 

When one of our clients, Julianne Capps, approached us about joining the mission of St. Jude as a sponsor for the upcoming St. Jude Walk/Run Triangle event, we jumped at the chance to help spread the word about the important work that they are doing in the fight to end childhood cancer; a mission that is close to Julianne’s heart. 

Julianne Capps Shares About Experience with St. Jude

Julianne started volunteering with St. Jude around two and a half years ago, but her relationship with them goes back many years before that. 

At the age of five, she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells. According to St. Jude, ALL is the most common form of childhood cancer; about 3,000 children under the age of 20 are found to have ALL every year in the United States alone. 

At the time of Julianne’s diagnosis, there was about a 50% survival rate for children with ALL. As resources were limited in her local medical offices, she was referred her to St. Jude, a decision that Julianne believes ultimately saved her life. She says, “Not only did they save me through medicine and great doctors, but they supported my family in financial ways as well. As an organization, St. Jude is very much focused on the whole family.”

This philosophy allows families to focus on what’s most important - making sure their children have everything they need to get healthy, without worrying about the financial implications that often accompany a cancer diagnosis. 

During Julianne’s treatment, she and her family traveled from Greensboro to Memphis monthly. St. Jude arranged and covered the costs for her flights, lodging, and food, in addition to the medical care she received. This is standard for all of the families that St. Jude supports. 

“I think most people assume that St. Jude covers the costs of medical treatments, but I don’t think many realize that they do so much more than that. Families are often living in Memphis for months at a time while their children receive treatment, and St. Jude covers their lodging, food, and more the entire time,” says Julianne.

Most importantly, St. Jude focuses on ending childhood cancer, not just for their patients, but for children around the world. Donations give St. Jude the ability to freely share their research around the world. Julianne explains, “Their goal is not to patent their findings and make money from them. They work with clinics and hospitals in their patients’ hometowns so that those patients can have as normal a life as possible and be surrounded by their support networks. Their ultimate goal is truly to help as many people as possible.”

Thanks to advances in medicine and generous donations to organizations like St. Jude, the survival rate for ALL is now around 94%. 

How to Support St. Jude in Their Fight to End Childhood Cancer

Join us on September 28, 2019, at the St. Jude Walk/Run Triangle, as we help raise money for the kids and families of St. Jude. We’ll be sponsoring the onsite photo booth that’s full of fun props and signs so you can capture the memories you make as you support this important cause. We hope you’ll consider posting your photos to social media to help spread awareness about the work St. Jude is doing both for children in our community and around the world. 

The Walk/Run is a family-friendly event, with music, snacks donated from local vendors, face painters, balloon artists, and more. Julianne remembers the fun her own children had at last year’s event, saying, “My kids were three and five at the time and they had a blast. They talked about it for weeks afterward! It’s a great opportunity to have fun with the whole family while supporting a cause that means a lot to so many people.”

It’s also a chance for the community to learn more about St. Jude and see the real impact they’ve made on people’s lives. Julianne believes that one of the most touching parts of the day is meeting and speaking with other cancer survivors that St. Jude has helped over the years. “I’ve seen firsthand the way that survivors can touch the community by sharing their stories. I’m delighted that Rufty Homes has allowed me to share my story and chosen to be a sponsor at the Walk/Run. Let’s go out there and end childhood cancer together!”

Register for the St. Jude Walk/Run Triangle here. You can also donate directly to St. Jude’s cause by visiting their website

We can’t wait to see you out there on September 28!

Before getting started on this project, our client, a local real estate developer, shared with us that one of their family's favorite pastimes is heading out west to go skiing. Over the years, they’ve fallen in love with the nature-inspired, lodge-style homes, and knew that they wanted to bring that inspiration into the home they planned to build here in North Carolina. 

The homeowners say, “We’re drawn to natural elements, like stone and wood. We wanted to incorporate that style into our home, without veering into a completely rustic design. It was important to us that we struck the balance between natural and contemporary. Rufty Homes helped us do just that.”

Before selecting a builder, the homeowners looked through different company portfolios, but the only builder they chose to meet with in person was Rufty Homes. “We knew we wanted to work with a builder with an established track record of quality building and unmatched customer service. We loved Rufty’s portfolio and thought their team seemed like a perfect match for us,” they said. 

As it turns out, their instincts were correct. In fact, one of their favorite parts of the build process was the collaborative nature of the project. “Our project manager, Don Pegram, was great. We’d come up with an idea, and Don and his team would communicate back and forth with us while coming up with creative solutions,” they explain. 

They continue, “Because of our desired aesthetic, some materials we wanted, like western red cedar, were not readily available in the area, but Don was able to find a supplier for us and at a great price. They continually went above and beyond for us.”

From Don’s perspective, that’s one of the best parts of his job. “I enjoyed hearing the homeowners' ideas and then figuring out how to make them happen. There’s a hand-built floating stone hearth on their fireplace that’s incredibly heavy. We were able to figure out how to balance it in there securely and I think the end result turned out great. That was the first time I’ve worked on a project like that, so it was a fun challenge to solve.”

The homeowners worked with the Rufty Homes team on another creative idea; the glass cork wall between their dining area and wine room. The idea was inspired by a trip to Aspen, where they were drawn to a similar idea in a restaurant they visited. 

The homeowners remember, “While we were designing the dining room, we had an epiphany to include the glass cork-filled wall. We knew that if we wanted to actually use our formal dining room, it needed to be interesting and we wanted there to be something for everyone to look at, no matter where they’re seated at the table.”

They continue, “We worked with the Rufty Homes team on several ideas about how to make the glass wall functional for holding the corks, talking through the logistics at every turn. We couldn’t be happier with the end result.”

When thinking back about the home building process, the homeowners believe that what sets Rufty Homes apart from other builders starts at the very top. They say, “Jon Rufty is very involved with his clients. He takes a personal interest in each home that is being built and kept in contact with us throughout the process. It wasn’t unusual for us to see him out at the build site when we'd stop by to see how progress was going.” 

They continue, “Jon sets the tone for the level of communication and transparency that’s expected from his team. It was clear to us that customer service is integral to what they do, and we genuinely felt like we built personal relationships with the people we worked with during this project.”

While they’ve been in their home since late 2017, sometimes they still stop for a moment to take it all in. They muse, “There’s an area between the front door and living area with stairway next to three-story windows going up the wall. Sometimes when walking up the stairs, we say to each other, ‘We can’t believe we're actually living in this house.’ Rufty Homes truly made our dream home a reality.”

See the full photo gallery for this project here

Rufty Homes and St Jude

Rufty Homes is proud to be a sponsor at the upcoming St. Jude Walk/Run Triangle in September. We're celebrating this partnership with St. Jude by hosting an ice cream social for our family, friends, co-workers, and subcontractors.

We hope you stop by on August 20th to enjoy some delicious ice cream and learn more about the important work St. Jude is doing to help end childhood cancer.

Event Details

Location:

Rufty Homes
5121 Kingdom Way, Suite 208
Raleigh, NC 27607

Date:

Tuesday, August 20th

Time:

4 - 6 pm (Please note, this is a floating event. You can stop by and leave at your leisure).

Please RSVP below if you plan to stop by!

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© 2024 Rufty Homes Inc. All rights reserved
© 2024 Rufty Homes Inc. All rights reserved
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