Students help ABC give local home a ‘makeover’
Student volunteers headed to Lyme, N.H., to help renovate a home featured on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”
By Kevin Xiao
Published on Wednesday, September 30, 2009
After Jay and Elena Marshall’s 10-year old son Cameron was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago, the family continued to perform community service, despite financial pressure from rising medical bills and problems with their Lyme, N.H., home. The family organized the “Be Positive” initiative, a program that raised more than $100,000 — $3,500 of which was raised by Cameron himself — for the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth.
When they return from vacation in two weeks, the Marshalls will find themselves on the opposite end of a charitable effort — as their house is completely renovated on an episode for ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” The episode is set to air on Oct. 18.
After witnessing the determination and persistence of the Marshall family, an existing coalition of non-profit organizations involved in affordable housing — including the Tucker Foundation — came together to lend volunteers for Extreme Makeover’s construction project, Jan-Roberta Tarjan, senior program officer for local service at the Tucker Foundation, said.
“The Tucker Foundation hopes to support the local coalitions of housing organizations in this community,” Tarjan said.
The project’s main focus, from Tucker’s perspective, is to help construct more affordable housing and “inform the greater Dartmouth community” about affordable housing issues throughout the Upper Valley, said Rebecca Briller, the AmeriCorps VISTA member for national and local service in the Tucker Foundation. Students will likely perform support roles, like moving furniture and helping with demolition, Tarjan said.
The Upper Valley Housing Coalition, Upper Valley United Way and Vital Communities are working with the Tucker Foundation on the project, Tarjan said. The Tucker Foundation is pushing for volunteers to work on the project in hopes that Dartmouth students will become involved in future affordable housing projects, Tarjan said.
Although only a portion of the 15 expected students showed up for Monday’s morning shift, the Tucker Foundation expects to send more than 70 volunteers over the next two weeks, according to Tarjan.
Tarjan said that she understands that students are starting a new term and getting accustomed to new course schedules, but hopes that more students will volunteer.
She said this project offers a unique combination of service, learning and media attention from a popular television series.
“This is something not really done, a unique collaboration of providing volunteers, advocacy and education,” Briller said of the project.
Volunteer Sabrina Jimenez-Pantoja ’13 — still deciding what activities to be involved with on campus — said she opted to take a chance with this project.
“When we get to Dartmouth, we’re bombarded with all these activities, and this seemed like a great opportunity to help,” Jimenez-Pantoja said as she waited for the Big Green Bus, which transported volunteers to the registration site.