Home Is Where the Shark Is…

A heartwarming story to start the week: A Peninsula family last week became the new owner of the Sharks Playhouse, courtesy of Rebuilding Together Peninsula (RTP) with the support of the Sharks Foundation.

We ran a feature a few issues ago in The Wave [Vol. 09, Iss. 08] about RTP’s Dreams Happen playhouse project – where every other year, 15 pint-sized dream homes are sold or raffled off to fund the organization, which helps low-income families rehabilitate their homes and community facilities. One of the playhouses was Sharks themed, and it was this house that was raffled off for $10 a ticket.

In a poignant twist of fate, the winning ticket belonged to Will, an eight year-old twin boy who only days earlier had lost his father to a three-year battle with cancer. Will, his twin Carl, and their four-and-three-quarter year-old sister Sarah were all big Sharks fans, as was their dad, and one of the last things they did with their father before he fell sick was go to a Sharks game.

Even more fateful, the winning ticket was drawn on June 6, which would have been Will’s parents’ 11th wedding anniversary. "Winning felt like a message on our anniversary," said Will’s mom Daisy. "I can't help but think my husband had something to do with it. This is a difficult time in [the kids'] lives but now, when they look at Shark House, they will think of their dad and know good things can still happen."

To celebrate this moving story, many people were on hand to see the Sharks playhouse take up its new home last Wednesday, July 8. Crane services were donated, and dramatically hoisted the 12-foot playhouse into the backyard, while Sharks players Torry Mitchell, Joe Paveiski and Devin Setoguchi were on hand to help the kids get to know their new playhouse. Will, Carl and Sarah's father's personal hockey skates will be placed inside Shark House in his memory.