Courtesy of SCAN
You may you spot a vibrant, blue playhouse perched on a trailer somewhere in Alexandria that looks suspiciously like the Spite House — and you have the opportunity to win it and fight child abuse in the process.
For 35 years, SCAN (which stands for Stop Child Abuse Now) has advocated on behalf of abused children and run programs to educate the community. They operate in multiple counties across Northern Virginia with family programs, public education efforts and institutional abuse prevention training.
“Anywhere a kid could be, we make sure that the adults in those spaces know how to recognize and respond to abuse,” said Emily Bishop, SCAN’s director of communications.
The “Tiny Home, Big Heart” fundraiser, which is open for donations until April 24, is meant to increase visibility of the problem and SCAN’s long term efforts to combat it.
“(Child abuse) is a silent epidemic in our community, and it's an issue that people just don't want to touch,” Bishop said. “But this fundraiser is fun. It's exciting. It embodies that fun of childhood and the play of childhood.”
The home was built and donated by Alair Homes, a custom home and remodeling company. Matt Bieschke, a partner at Alair, had reached out to SCAN hoping to find a way to help their mission that went beyond simply donating money. They floated the idea of the playhouse and Bieschke knew it was something he wanted to do.
Bieschke has witnessed firsthand SCAN’s commitment to the children they serve. In the mid-2000s, his wife served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). CASA is a national organization, but SCAN runs the Alexandria and Arlington programs.
“The case that my wife worked on went on for years and she truly developed a relationship with his girl,” Bieschke said. “I got to really understand how important my wife was in that girl's process.”
In the same way that SCAN shows long term commitment to kids in the community, Bieschke wants his company to partner with SCAN in ongoing, meaningful ways. It was his idea to design the playhouse after the Spite House and there are plenty more ideas where that came from for future playhouse fundraisers. He even had his kids, ages 9 and 11, involved in building the playhouse.
The Spite House was once a house that was literally built out of spite, but is now an iconic landmark that brings people together. For Bishop, this is also the spirit of the “Tiny Home, Big Heart” fundraiser.
“This is a symbol of resilience,” Bishop said. “Something that can come out of a hard time can end up actually being something really positive that brings people together.”
For your chance to win the playhouse, visit scanva.org/donate/playhouse for more instructions and to donate. Each $10 donation earns one raffle ticket and you can buy as many tickets as you’d like. The winner will be announced on April 24.
