Jan. 31 grand opening set for new wing of The Ballard House

By: Houston Chronicle - Staff Report 

The Ballard House, 21421 Cinco Park Road in Katy, will hosting a Jan. 31 Grand Opening Ceremony for their new wing set to open this month.

The grand opening is scheduled from 4-7 p.m. It's free to the public, but donations are appreciated.

Construction for the new wing began in April 2018. The expansion adds 16 guest rooms, a living room, kitchen and laundry room for guests to use free of charge. The expansion is timely, and The Ballard House founders hope to assist in accommodating the demand from prospective guests and the future University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center outpatient diagnostic and treatment center near Interstate 10 and Texas 6 as well as other hospitals.

The nonprofit organization offers housing to people traveling to the Greater Houston area for treatment of severe illnesses. Kathy Alt,The Ballard House executive director, said she expects the expansion to offer an additional 400 nights of lodging each month to patients and family members.

"The Ballard House is a symbol of the warm and welcoming spirit of Katy's community," said  Alt,  "The need for housing assistance has exploded the last couple of years. Now is a critical time to support The Ballard House as we answer the need from Houston's growing medical community and provide patients and their families free lodging and other services, so they can concentrate on receiving their treatment. We are ready to celebrate this amazing accomplishment with the same community that helped us raise the funds to achieve it."

In addition to The Ballard Foundation donation of $2 million, The Ballard House has raised more than $105,000 to support the expansion. The Ballard House has surpassed more than 36,700 nights of free lodging to host more than 7,000 guests coming from all over the world.

A 501c3 organization, Cinco Charities® Inc. was founded in 2006 by a group of Keller Williams Premier Realty agents and has provided "a home away from home" for hundreds of patients and their caregivers since its inception. The organization has extended their commitment to those in need by building The Ballard House, a 24 guest-suite hospitality house to meet the growing needs of patients coming to the Katy/West Houston Medical Center for treatment for life-threatening illnesses. These families have traveled to Katy from 45 Texas cities and 26 different states.

Visit www.theballardhouse.org for more information.

Full Story