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Community College of Rhode Island
“Ultimate Playhouse” built to raise money for good cause
Small sports fans—here is your fantasy clubhouse!
Last month, a CCRI-created miniature clubhouse, complete with stadium seating and PawSox team jerseys, brought in $4,000 in a live auction to benefit Memorial Hospital. Members of the CCRI Division for Lifelong Learning staff, creators of this handicap-accessible structure that includes a wheelchair ramp, not-so-modestly called their handiwork “the ultimate playhouse.”
CCRI’s John Gomes and Norman Cook partnered with the Pawtucket Red Sox and Lowe’s Home Improvement to build the 8 x 10 foot playhouse, which includes a team scoreboard and a bunk-bed ladder made of baseball bats. Even the structure's gray-and-red color scheme mimics Rhode Island’s own McCoy Stadium.
Playhouse sponsor and PawSox General Manager Lou Schweichheimer said, “We were delighted to help raise money while providing enjoyment for children. Our operation is all about children and families.”
The clubhouse was one of two live auction playhouses and four raffled playhouses built by organizations around the state to raise money for Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department expansion, which is slated to include a dedicated pediatric area.
In addition to donating materials for the playhouse, Carlene Luciani, human resources manager for Lowe’s Warwick branch, estimates that she and her staff contributed close to 60 hours of labor toward the playhouse’s creation. Luciani adds, “I’d love to see the kid’s face who ends up with that playhouse!”
