‘Home With a Heart’ to raise funds for Phoenix Children’s Hospital BUILDING FOR A CAUSE When some people want to raise money for a charity, they throw a fundraising event. Some people do golf tournaments, or 5K runs, or any number of other everyday activities. Some people just write a check and call it a day. When Bill and Joanne Stock wanted to raise money for Phoenix Children’s Hospital, they decided to do something different — build a huge luxury home in Silverleaf, then sell it and donate the profits. This was not necessarily an easy endeavor. But it was one worth doing for the Stocks, whose family was touched personally by the impact of a hospital like PCH in Boston when they were young parents. “My son had hydrocephalus as a child,” Bill Stock said. “When he was sick, I felt totally helpless for the first time in my life. Hope became a shelter where I lived for a while. The hospital staff in Boston helped build that shelter, especially Dr. Scott, my son’s neurosurgeon.” The Stocks started the Bill & Joanne Stock Foundation to guide their charitable impact, and 30 FRONTDOORS MEDIA | JUNE 2019 NEXT DOORS {ahead of the curve} Tom Evans | Contributing Editor

had the idea of building a house to raise funds for two PCH-related causes — Barrow Neurological Institute at PCH, and the 1 Darn Cool School, which helps children being treated at the hospital stay current on their academic progress. But in order to make their vision work, they needed partners — builders, realtors, the people who would help make such a vision a reality. The Stocks could front the money, but they needed assistance to make the whole thing happen. So Bill Stock reached out to Scottsdale-based homebuilder and realtor Steve Sommer, completely out of the blue. “We’ve always done things for charity, but we have always wanted to build a home to raise money to help a specific need,” said Sommer, who is the owner of Sommer Custom Homes. “I’ve wanted to do this for 20 years. Then out of the blue, Bill Stock called me up and said, ‘Hi, I have this idea, and you might think I am crazy but this is what I want to do.’ It was the perfect phone call and perfect timing.” Thus, “Home With a Heart” was born. But Sommer knew that in order to maximize the fundraising impact, they’d have to walk the line between creating an exceptional home and keeping costs to a minimum. Creating the exceptional home was in Sommer’s wheelhouse. And the Home With a Heart is an exceptional home. “It’s 7,350 square feet of livable space, with the latest and greatest in technology and interior design,” Sommer said. “My daughter has an interior design company and she and her partner did the interior design, and it looks amazing. Fresh, light, bright — it’s everything someone is looking for in a new custom home.” But how do you maximize the math? You ask a lot of people for a lot of favors. Fortunately, Sommer has been working with many of his contractors for decades, so he had a little sway. And he found the ask was easier than he anticipated. “They have been fantastic, and very supportive,” he said. “We have been building since 1990 and have a lot of long-term relationships, and The home, located at 9849 E. Legacy Lane in Scottsdale, includes five bedrooms and 6.5 bathrooms. JUNE 2019 | FRONTDOORS MEDIA 31