By Jean Sealey
Northeast Florida Builders Association
Long before the 7 a.m. knock on the door at the Harvey home in Hastings, members of the Northeast Florida Builders Association, Builders Care staff and hundreds of local volunteers, were hard at work on plans to perform an “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” on one residence and to rehabilitate a number of other homes in the same neighborhood.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, hosted by Ty Pennington, is the ABC Television Network’s Emmy-nominated series. The premise of the show is to transform the life of a deserving family by rebuilding the family’s home.
For the six members of the Harvey family, that means moving from their Army-barrack dwelling built in the 1930s into a 4,280-square-foot home.
In a race against the clock, hundreds of volunteers, under the direction of Builders Care and ABC’s construction team, completely demolished the existing home and immediately began the work of building the new one. Construction had to be completed within 96 hours so the house could be turned over to the decorators for the final touches. Work went around the clock.
The schedule, which began Wednesday, March 2 with a knock on the Harvey’s door, allotted two days for the crew to pack the family’s belongings while the family was whisked away to vacation for a few days. Demolition of their home began early Friday morning with a crew of several hundred volunteers, who brought the house down with ropes. By Friday afternoon, serious work on building a new home had begun.
“NEFBA Builders Care is honored to be working alongside ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ to give the Harveys a new beginning,” NEFBA President Bryan Lendry said. “While the extent of the construction and repairs performed on the show are beyond the typical services offered by Builders Care, we feel that this is a great vehicle with which to spread our message and demonstrate to other markets what is possible with the combined efforts of corporate citizens, volunteers and a caring community to help those less fortunate.”
Lendry headed up and organized the volunteer crew. Lendry’s company, Brylen Homes, has devoted time, energy and resources to the completion of the Extreme Makeover project.
In addition to the herculean task of building the Harveys a new home, Builders Care also performed an Extreme Community Outreach within the Harveys’ neighborhood to restore the substandard living conditions of many of their neighbors’ homes. Many of the services provided by Builders Care are emergency repairs that, if left in disrepair, could pose a threat to the health and wellbeing of families. These repairs may rectify structural problems, water damage, plumbing and heating system failures, faulty electrical systems and extremely dangerous living conditions.
“There are so many people in need of a safe, dry place to rest their heads every night, and Builders Care exists to help those people who could not otherwise help themselves,” Lendry said. “Builders Care reaches out into the community, bridges gaps and unites individuals and organizations for the sole purpose of helping our neighbors in need.”
Willie Harvey, his wife, Alecia, their children, Arlayceea, Willie Jr., and Jasmine, and Auntie Mary, are known for giving selflessly to a local non-profit organization, Neighborhood Partners, which assists struggling local families
An estimated 3,000 people were involved in this effort to change the lives of this deserving Northeast Florida family and community.