This summer, DPR Hardin welcomed the opportunity to put their skills as builders to use in the community, working with Make-a-Wish to build a deluxe playhouse for a deserving youth. Spearheaded by the Savannah, GA project teams, the house was planned over the course of several months and built in a marathon four-day session while the recipient was out of town.

Danielle Newman of DPR Hardin Savannah led the charge in organizing the meticulously planned play house. She spent approximately 40 hours over the last few months ironing out the administrative details of how to make the playhouse a reality, working with Make-A-Wish Savannah. The planning culminated in mid-July, when a team of 10 Savannah-area DPR employees, assisted by several subcontractor employees, came together over four consecutive days to create a dream playhouse in the corner of Rachel’s backyard.

Photo courtesy Andi King

Also contributing were subcontractors Sobman Landscaping, which landscaped around the structure, and Alpha Painting, which contributed both materials and manpower to help paint the structure, along with a handful of other subcontractors from the DPR Hardin Outlet Mall of Savannah and Broughton Street Renovation projects who donated time, money and materials.

Photo courtesy Andi King

More than 100 people, including local news crews, neighbors, friends, family, DPR employees and subcontractors along with representatives from Make-a-Wish Savannah, converged in Rachel’s backyard to witness Rachel’s first look at the new playhouse during the “wish reveal.”

The excited crowd formed a human tunnel shielding the playhouse from Rachel’s view until she passed through to see the finished product: a beautifully finished and inviting two-story playhouse featuring a loft inside and an L-shaped porch on the front, complete with porch swing.

Although all that attention proved a bit overwhelming for Rachel initially, she soon climbed into the pint sized swing to enjoy the view from the front porch of her new domicile. “She was having a ball,” Newman said. “And her older brother Joshua just fell down, face first, when he saw the playhouse – he was wowed. It was pretty cute.”