News

Fire Destroys Home, But Not Agent’s Mission to Find the Family a New One


RISMEDIA, Oct. 18, 2007-One door to a home closes and another opens. Such is the case of Ellen Mulvihill who recently watched her New Jersey Shore house burn down. But, she is getting the keys to a new home thanks to the efforts by a group of caring people. The generous support is especially heartfelt because Mulvihill has both hands full with her 13-year-old autistic son who became disoriented due to the loss and requires 24/7 care.

The wheels to find a new home for Mulvihill went into motion when William Dillon, a sales associate at Diane Turton, Realtors’ Brick office and former lieutenant in the Hillside Police Department, heard the bad news from another sales associate at the real estate firm. Deborah Frick of the Manahawkin office knows Mulvihill and put out a call for help throughout her company. Responding to the emergency, Mr. Dillon began by speaking with many of his friends including, Joseph Signore, the founder of Brick Township-based Wheels 4 Charity Foundation, about Ms. Mulvihill’s plight.

Together Dillon and Signore went to Modern Homes Inc., a Toms River-based modular homebuilder. Working with the Kelli Cisek at the homebuilder, the group procured a house for Mulvihill from Penn Lyon Homes, which is one of the largest modular home manufacturers in the USA. Located in Pennsylvania, Penn Lyon Homes (www.pennlyon.com) will also transport the modular house to Mulvihill’s lot and a small army of volunteer design and building professionals as well as craftsmen will be needed to finish the house.

The completed dwelling will have about 2,300 square feet of space and be valued at $260,000.

“Modern Homes and our firm have much in common because we understand the value of giving back to the communities we serve,” said Diane Turton, owner and broker of record of Diane Turton, Realtors. “On this project, we are working with one of the best in the business and partnering with true professionals makes all the difference in the world. In fact, we both know how important a home is to a family and that is what makes our partnership a natural.”

While a home for Mulvihill is in the works, she still needs furniture, painting and much more. The group has been working to locate businesses, plumbers and electricians to chip in their time and expertise. So far, Lowe’s and Home Depot have come aboard to donate all appliances and furnishings. In addition, the Township of Barnegat has agreed to assist with this project and has streamlined the process of obtaining the permits that are needed to complete a variety of work.

Nevertheless, a call to action has been put out to the general public with a goal to open the door to Mulvihill’s new home by Christmas. The group is seeking help from demolition firms, debris removers, engineers to produce a plot plan, masons for the foundation and an architect. Anyone interested in helping can visit the Wheels 4 Charity Foundation Web site at http://wheels4charity.com/volunteer-form.



For more information, visit http://www.dianeturton.com/.