Mandy DeCecco-Kolebaba and Leo Joseph stand in front of "The Leo Joseph," the STARS Lottery dream home in Lethbridge, January 19, 2023. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

STARS Lottery home in Lethbridge named after young patient

Jan 19, 2023 | 12:43 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – STARS Air Ambulance has launched its 30th annual lottery for 2023.

The fundraiser sees Albertans purchasing tickets in hopes of winning a selection of “dream homes,” vacations, cash prizes, and more.

During the launch event in Lethbridge on Thursday, January 19, 2023, STARS Chief Financial Officer Linda Dalgetti says they typically generate up to $11 million from the lottery in Alberta.

“We will raise enough money in the lottery to support one full Alberta base for an entire year,” says Dalgetti, “and that allows us to provide that life-saving critical care when you need it, where you need it, whoever you are. [The STARS Lottery is] incredibly important, this lottery is a huge piece of our ability to provide that care.”

The Lethbridge dream home, named “The Leo Joseph,” is located at 1405 Halifax Road West and was built by Van Arbor Homes. Photos of the house are included at the bottom of this article.

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Van Arbor Homes Owner Val Lowen says they wanted to marry tradition and modern conveniences.

The fully-furnished 2,239 square foot home, valued at $968,000, includes three bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and an unfinished basement with the capacity to add another two beds and one bath.

Lowen explains that when she and her husband lived on a farm in 1991, their daughter died after having a medical emergency. First responders were not able to reach the rural property in time.

“When we got the STARS project, I said to my husband that I would really like to name the first house after our girl, Jenna Michele, and that would be the only posthumous honouring that we would do,” says Lowen. “We would search out every year to find a child whose life was saved by STARS and we would name the house after them.”

Thankfully, for Mandy DeCecco-Kolebaba, STARS was able to provide the necessary assistance to save her newborn son, Leo Joseph.

In 2015, DeCecco-Kolebaba says her child suddenly got very sick when he was 11 weeks old.

She says his health continued to worsen while at Chinook Regional Hospital and was informed that a STARS helicopter was coming to take him to the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary.

The STARS crew airlifted the infant to Calgary and updated the parents every step of the way.

After a one-week stay at the Children’s Hospital, Leo Joseph was released with a clean bill of health. He is now eight years old and, according to his mother, is “full of life.”

“We have great healthcare systems, but STARS is highly-specialized and not every community has access to these other facilities, so without STARS, Leo probably wouldn’t have survived. That’s how sick he got and very quickly,” says DeCecco-Kolebaba.

Her other son, who is about three years older than Leo Joseph, had STARS-themed birthday parties for the next two years and used the parties as opportunities to raise money for the organization.

DeCecco-Kolebaba adds that it is the “icing on the cake” to have a house named after her child.

Leo Joseph says he likes the house, particularly the play area on the top floor.

For more details on the STARS Lottery, including the full list of prizes and how to enter, go to the STARS Lottery website.

The STARS Lottery dream home in west Lethbridge. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

The entryway of the STARS Lottery dream home in Lethbridge. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

A sitting area in the STARS Lottery dream home in Lethbridge. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

Dozens of guests gather in the kitchen and dining rooms in the STARS Lottery dream home in Lethbridge. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

The play area in the top floor of the STARS Lottery dream home in Lethbridge. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

The master bedroom in the STARS Lottery dream home in Lethbridge. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

The en suite bathroom in the STARS Lottery dream home in Lethbridge. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

The nursery in the STARS Lottery dream home in Lethbridge. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

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