Hoping for a huge payday of its own, Habitat for Humanity of Utah County is encouraging Utah Valley residents to help an Orem family win $100,000.

Habitat stands to win $250,000 of its own, half of which would go to the local chapter -- enough to build an entire Habitat house.

The story starts in August 2005 when Danny Gibbons decided to leave what was then Utah Valley State College. He packed everything he owned and headed for Arizona State University, but on the way, during a heavy storm, he hydroplaned.

"The accident caved the driver's side door to the middle of the car," he said.

Gibbons broke his pelvis in several places and broke his femur, and he spent nearly a month in an Arizona hospital. It was nine months before he could walk again.

In the hospital, he had a lot of time to think, and decided to drop accounting to become a physical therapist. He returned to UVU, where he will graduate this spring.

Earlier this year, Gibbons opened the mail one day to find an announcement in a bank statement from Wells Fargo.

"It said tell us about your someday dream and you could be $100,000 richer," Gibbons said.

Bored because his wife was napping, Gibbons jotted down a 250-word essay about his accident and his new dream to go to graduate school to become a physical therapist. He sent his essay and forgot about it.

Not long after, it started raining money.

"It must have been two months later that I got a FedEx envelope that said we had been chosen as a top 12 finalist," he said. "We received a check for $1,000."

"We had totally forgotten about it and didn't expect anything at all," said Tiffani Gibbons, Danny's wife.

"We had $1,000 in our pocket; that was as helpful as could be," Danny Gibbons said.

Another month or two went by and then a call came while the couple were driving to shop for their soon-to-be-born first child.

"I pulled the car over," Danny Gibbons said. "They told us we had won $10,000."

"That was so cool," his wife said.

"We were screaming and hugging each other," Danny Gibbons said. The couple said they have used their winnings to pay down student loans, but have $40,000 in loans left. If they win the grand prize, they would pay off their student loans and pay graduate school tuition. The couple's first child is due on Monday, and the money will be a boon for that, too.

Out of more than 10,000 entries, Gibbons' is one of five finalists in the national contest, and the only finalist from Utah, said Mark Chapman of Wells Fargo. The final winner, to be announced in November, will be chosen by votes on the company's Web site, wellsfargo.com/somedaystories.

This is where Habitat for Humanity comes into the story.

In addition to giving the essay winner $100,000, Wells Fargo is giving $250,000 to one of three charities chosen by voters on the Web site.

One of those is Habitat, and the national organization has agreed to split the winnings with the Utah County organization if enough local people, using the 84058 zip code, vote to make Habitat the winner. Voters are required to give a zip code when voting to help track where votes come from.

Half of the $250,000 prize would be enough to build an entire Habitat house in Utah Valley, and because of that, Habitat has launched a campaign to get all local residents to vote for both Gibbons and Habitat.

Real-time voting results are displayed on the Wells Fargo Web site and as of Wednesday afternoon Danny had a slight edge over the other four contestants, while Habitat for Humanity was in second place to win the charity money, with one percent fewer votes than the leader.

"It's a rare opportunity to make this much, and to be able to build a whole house from one donation," said Kena Jo Mathews of Habitat for Humanity of Utah County. "It is such a simple way to help two families in the community. I hope people get excited."

"Go to the Web site and vote," said Pat Correa of Habitat for Humanity, noting it would take years to get this kind of donation through some of the organization's other programs, such as gathering donated aluminum cans for cash.

Habitat is urging residents to vote now, and to enter the 84058 zip code no matter where they live in Utah County as they vote.

"We only get credit if the vote comes from 84058," said Mathews. For information about Habitat for Humanity of Utah County, call 344-8527. To vote for Gibbons and Habitat, visit wellsfargo.com/somedaystories.

Danny Gibbons's winning essay for the Wells Fargo Someday Stories contest:

A Second Chance at Life

As my compact-size sedan spun wildly out of control on that lonely Arizona highway, every memory, dream, and regret of my life flashed before my young eyes. At 23 years of age, my expectations of becoming an accountant were diminished to simply surviving the crumpled heap of metal that was my car, drenched in cold rain and blood. Time would reveal a new agenda for me through this important tragedy in my life. A broken pelvis and femur bone stranded me in an unfamiliar hospital environment among doctors, nurses, and physical therapists. Throughout the coming months, I would experience more pain, discomfort and sense of achievement than I had ever felt before. Learning to walk again strengthened me more spiritually than it did physically. My experience in physical therapy as a patient has led me to pursue a new dream: to serve others in recovery as a physical therapist. Starting down this new path in college has been an intimidating and exciting adventure! It has sculpted me into an absolutely different person than who I was that night, fighting for survival in that dark Arizona desert. Now, as a financially struggling undergraduate student, young husband, and soon-to-be father, the pressure is on to reach out, past the obstacles and barriers of life, and seize my dreams! Someday, I will fulfill my dreams by using my challenging life experiences to strengthen my patients and make a difference in this world, as a physical therapist.