In June 2023, BayCoast Bank in Swansea, Massachusetts, joined forces with a network of community partners to create a playhouse for a young girl with life-limiting medical challenges.
Rosemary’s Wish Kids, a nonprofit dedicated to granting wishes for children and young adults, had approached the $2.9 billion-asset community bank with a compelling donation request. The group sought support for a project that it was working with on with A Brush with Kindness, a Habitat for Humanity program. One of the Rosemary’s Wish Kids’ initiatives is building special, themed playhouses that are then delivered to the recipient’s home.
John McMahon, senior vice president of community engagement at BayCoast Bank, helped coordinate building the playhouse from a financial perspective. “It really did take a village to pull these things together,” he said.
BayCoast Bank employees donated money and helped paint the playhouse, and Rosemary’s Wish Kids united community members, local vocational schools and building contractors to complete the project.
While Rosemary’s Wish Kids has executed themes like Batman, Superman and PawSox in the past, this recipient envisioned a princess-themed wish house in vibrant pinks, purples and other bright colors. BayCoast Bank and the community organizations helped bring the concept and design to life.
At the wish house’s reveal, the girl’s family was visibly moved by the effort and care poured into the project. McMahon, who attended the reveal, recalled, “It was emotional. … It warms their heart, from the perspective that there are hundreds of people involved in making this happen for their family and for their child.”
