For the past three years, Tom Cook Jr. has bought several tickets for the Home with Heart Raffle benefiting Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Cook’s goal was simple — support a charity that he felt made a significant impact.
When buying the tickets, not once did he ever consider the possibility of winning.
“I looked at my ticket and looked at it and looked at it” once the winning numbers were announced, Cook said. “I said to myself, that looks like my number. I read it two to three times … and I even took it to my dad who was in the other room.
“I really wanted to be certain that I was reading it right.”
And now he is the owner of a new home donated by Willow Branch Homes, valued at $560,000. Located in the Greystone community in Smyrna, the four-bedroom, three-bathroom house also offers neighborhood perks like a resort-style pool, open green spaces and an amenities center.
This year’s Home with Heart Raffle marked the third time that Willow Branch Homes has graciously donated a home to support Monroe Carell. Bucky Ingram, owner of Willow Branch Homes and Monroe Carell Advisory Board member, along with his wife, Mariel, is excited to see the impact of funds raised by the raffle.
“Not only does the Home with Heart Raffle allow us to give back on a large scale to the patients and families at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, but it also lets us experience the joy felt by the winner of the brand-new house,” said Ingram. “Everyone who bought a raffle ticket can feel good knowing the funds raised went to a great cause and will make a difference for young patients and their families.”
Cook, who currently resides in Lewisburg, Tennessee, with his father, Tom Cook Sr., said he is overwhelmed by the big win.
“My children thought I was pulling their leg,” said Cook. “I emailed my son, who is an attorney, to triple check it and to see if I was losing my mind, and low and behold, it was real, very real,” he said, chuckling.
Recently Cook and his father got the opportunity to walk through the 2,600 square-foot house for the first time. While he had captured glimpses of the home on TV, it didn’t compare to seeing the space in person.
“This is unreal,” said the awe-struck Cook. “This is amazing. Unbelievable. So very nice,” he commented as he strolled through the two-story home. “I’m just so blessed.”
Cook said he was most impressed with the downstairs living area and the master bedroom.
A retired U.S. Army veteran, Cook previously lived in Georgia, where he worked for the Georgia Department of Veterans Affairs for 15 years after his 21 years of military service. He returned to his hometown in 2017 to care for his father.
“This is truly a divine blessing,” he said. “And the reality of winning is finally starting to sink in.”
Cook had a little advice for future raffle ticket purchasers:
“Don’t discount the possibility of winning,” he said with a big grin. “I’m so proud that I’m helping the kids. I wish I could do more. I definitely encourage others to do what they can. This is a great way to support the hospital.”
Since the raffle was created, nearly $2 million has been raised for Monroe Carell that will go toward supporting the hospital’s vision to establish the first and only pediatric inpatient rehabilitation program in Tennessee.
Organizers are already making plans for the location of the 2025 Home with Heart Raffle.
