SAN ANTONIO, TX  -- When the latest St. Jude Dream Home® opened for public tours on October 14, 2011, visitors got to see not only what community volunteerism can achieve, but also some of the latest U.S.-made products available, including new designs from Florida Tile.

According to Florida Tile Marketing Director Sean Cilona, approximately 3,000 square feet of space in the home, which was built as a fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, features products from the Kentucky-based company. "Included in the Florida Tile donation were the new Paramount HDP High Definition Porcelain and just-released Berkshire HDP wood fashioned in Hickory, as well as Florida Tile's best-selling color Legend HDP Titan," he said, adding that the purpose of the home's construction in San Antonio and other cities across the U.S. is to raise money to support St. Jude's million-dollar-a-day operating costs.

"We were approached for materials by one of our major distributors, Stone Solutions, Inc. -- headquartered in Austin -- which, in turn, had been contacted to help on the project by one of its major interior design firms, Class Covers & Colors Interior Design, Inc.," Cilona went on to say. "Rather than donate surplus or outdated product, Florida Tile continues to feel that projects like this one deserve the best, which is why we shipped our newest and our best, especially since the home was built in the desirable Cresta Bella subdivision of Northwest San Antonio and built by Stadler Custom Homes."

"The neat thing about this project was how everyone pitched in from contributors like Florida Tile to the installation crews," said John Stark of Stone Solutions. "There were hard costs involved from shipping to paying the salaries of the installers. In the end, the home makes a nice, compact impact statement for the upscale subdivision and for contributors like Florida Tile. Importantly, we felt this was a U.S. deal and needed a U.S. tile maker."

According to St. Jude, to date more than 30 dream homes -- valued between $300,000 and $700,000 -- are or have been built nationwide. When a home is finished, tickets are sold at $100 each with the winner receiving the keys to the new home. All proceeds from the sale go to St. Jude's. In the case of the San Antonio Dream Home, which is valued at $600,000, tickets are limited to 8,550 tickets. Officials close to the project say that within five days of the showcase opening more than two-thirds of tickets had been sold. The winner of the new dream home will be drawn on Thursday, November 3.

For more information on St. Jude Children's Hospital and the "San Antonio St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway," visit www.stjude.org/dhsanantonio.