Southeastern Regional Students Build Dream Playhouse for 6-Year-Old Boy Through Project Playhouse Initiative

Southeastern Regional students pose with Liam, who gives a thumbs-up from inside his playhouse. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School)

SOUTH EASTON — Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School students brought a local child’s dream playhouse to life through the Project Playhouse initiative. 

After months of designing and constructing the playhouse, students presented their creation to 6-year-old Liam, who is facing a life-threatening illness. The reveal was held on April 29 at Bryant University, where Southeastern Regional students witnessed the impact of their work.

For three years, Southeastern Regional has partnered with Project Playhouse, a program organized by Bryant University’s student-led Management Association that gives back to the community. Each year, Southeastern Regional and other participating high schools design and build custom playhouses for children battling life-threatening illnesses. 

“I’ll say personally, this is my favorite project of the whole year. We look forward to Project Playhouse and our collaboration with Bryant University. It is the most rewarding thing that I do professionally, and I know that students feel that way too,” said Southeastern Regional Vocational Supervisor Jarrod Lussier. “It’s one of those projects that they look forward to every single year. They’re excited to work on it. There’s kids that want to leave lunch to come back and work on this playhouse, so it has such a true meaning behind it.”

Southeastern Regional students created Liam’s playhouse based on his interests, including Roblox, playing outside and climbing. They equipped the playhouse with working electricity and plumbing (a water slide and water cannon).

The project first began in September, when Advertising and Design shop students were tasked with creating their own versions of Liam’s dream playhouse based on his interests.

Junior Devin Hogan’s design was ultimately selected for the playhouse. The final product was a castle complete with a trap door, outlets, USB charging ports and a rock-climbing wall.

Devin spoke about the process of working with students from different shops to make his initial design a reality.

“I think that they did a really great job of bringing it to life and adding their own details to the design, like the water gun and slide,” said Devin. “I like that they can do that and take my design and add to it. That’s what the design process is.”

After the design was finalized, students from the Carpentry, Plumbing, Electrical and Advertising and Design shops constructed the playhouse, while Digital Cinema and Broadcasting students documented the process from beginning to end. 

“Each year, our students look forward to working on Project Playhouse,” said Principal Shawn Desmond. “It is a special opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, and we are proud to see how much our students value this experience. All of the months of hard work paid off the moment Liam saw his playhouse. I hope our students are proud of themselves and the impact they’ve had on this family.”

The Project Playhouse initiative, now in its tenth year, began as a service-learning project for Bryant University’s Management 200 course. Students were tasked with brainstorming ways to help local children with life-threatening illnesses and decided to partner with organizations including the Tomorrow Fund and Make a Wish Come True to work with vocational schools and create dream playhouses for children. The class project has since grown into a volunteer-based initiative organized by the Bryant Management Association.

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Liam tests out the water gun that Southeastern Regional students attached to his playhouse. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School)

Inspired by Liam’s love of climbing and playing outside, Southeastern Regional students designed Liam’s playhouse to include a rock climbing wall. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School)

Liam, his little sister and mom explore the inside of the playhouse. Students decorated the walls with a hand-painted dragon and placed stars on the ceiling. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School)

Liam and his family pose outside of the playhouse. (Photo Courtesy Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School)