‘God gave us a blessing’: FOX 8 catches up with last year’s St. Jude Dream Home winner

MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio (WJW) – It was one year ago that Cherise Lightning’s name was called during the live drawing for the 2023 St. Jude Dream Home.

“I was at work,” said Lightning, who wasn’t watching the announcement. “My sister called me and then one of the church members texted me and said, ‘you just won the house!”

The Cleveland cosmetology school instruction says it was always her dream to become a homeowner.

She and her mother would even enter the St. Jude drawing year after year until her passing in 2022.

“I used to watch it all the time, and I was like, ‘Mom, we’re going to win a house,'” Lightning said. “That year that she passed, I still purchased two tickets. We didn’t win that year and I was like, ‘OK, this wasn’t our year. We’re going to keep playing until we win.'”

And win she did! Unlike winners in the past, Lightning didn’t sell for profit.

Last year was a big year as she became a newlywed. She and her new husband were actually looking for a new home at the time.

“We had actually went house shopping maybe two days prior,” she said. “God gave us a blessing.”

The big question now, will this year’s winner also move into their new home?

Built by Skoda Construction, the 2,400 square foot, the 2024 St. Jude Dream Home is a two-story home with four bedrooms and three half-baths.

It has an open floor plan with a two-story foyer. There’s also a first floor primary bathroom with a vaulted ceiling, a two-story great room and an unfinished basement.

This past winter, 26,000 tickets were sold at $100 each during the FOX 8 Annual Ticket Sell-A-Thon, raising $2.6 million for the St. Jude Research Hospital.

As for Wednesday morning’s drawing, the new neighbors will be watching.

“It’s a nice place to be,” Lightning said. “Enjoy your home.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.