Volunteers from across the state gathered in Lexington to participate in ABC’s popular television show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in November of last year. Katie Snow, who works with Stokes Partnership for Children, coordinated a dedicated group of AmeriCorps members who were eager to work on the project. Snow, along with Alicia Hartsfield and Cathey Ector, commissioned officers of the NC Commission of Volunteerism and Community Service, were able to bring in 30 volunteers to take part on the last day of the weeklong event.

“It was a wonderful experience. I found out about it two weeks prior to it happening. I had to go through quite a few hoops to make sure our groups could participate, but it was well worth it,” Snow said.

Access Job Link, Partnership for Children, Partnership to End Homelessness, Project POWER (Putting Opportunities Within Everyone’s Reach), ACCESS (AmeriCorps’ Cross Cultural Educational Service Systems), were five of the AmeriCorps programs registered to be a part of the television show.

The filming began November 11, on a wet, rainy day. However, the weather didn’t deter the energy and support of NC businesses, the local fire and police department and restaurants that catered to the hundreds of volunteers. The deserving family chosen by ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was the Creaseys, William, Tricia and their three children. Tricia, a seventh grade teacher, is currently battling stage four cancer. Their home, which was bought as a fixer upper, has taken a back seat to Tricia’s mounting medical care. Because of this, the Creasey home had succumbed to numerous structural problems such as holes in the floors, walls and roof.

“Much of the work and labor was done in the first four days. But it was exciting to be there on the day of the reveal,” Snow said.

Even though the home itself was complete, there was much work to be done as the AmeriCorps volunteers drove in early morning, November 17. They were asked to bring in furniture, help with yard work, assist in security to keep spectators out of the home and do much of the cleaning that was necessary just hours before the Creaseys arrived.

Patricia Price, an AmeriCorps volunteer, had the opportunity to spend some time with the energetic host, Ty Pennington.

“He was everything you see on TV! He was so nice and very polite,” Price said.

As thrilling as it was to meet a celebrity, Price said her favorite part of the day was seeing the family come home.

“There were tears coming down everyone’s faces. It meant a lot to know that I had made a difference in the life of that family,” she said.

While working on the project, another AmeriCorps volunteer, Laura O’Keefe, met Jason Hedrick, contractor and owner of Hedrick Creative Building. Out of a large number of builders within the Triad area, Hedrick’s company was chosen to oversee the project, partly due to his focus on building environmentally smart homes.

“He was the nicest man. You could tell that helping this family was important to him, especially seeing they were from the same community,” O’Keefe said.

The Creaseys and their three children had been whisked away to sunny Florida to visit Walt Disney World. However, their family members were there at the home, helping volunteer.

O’Keefe had the opportunity to work side by side with a few of them.

“Even though I had never met the Creasey’s, I felt like I knew them through talking with their family and hearing stories. It made the day even more meaningful,” O’Keefe said.

Because AmeriCorps volunteered on the last day of filming, the group was allowed to see the impact of a community coming together and what giving of time is all about. At the end of the week, over 2,500 volunteers gathered together to build a home in just 106 hours.

“Even though this was a Hollywood production, there was some staging of planting flowers and practicing the popular ‘Move that bus!’ scene, it was still such a strong sense of people being there for the right reason,” Snow said.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that featured the Creasey family of Lexington aired January 31 on ABC and can be viewed online at abc.go.com/shows/extreme-makeover-home-edition.