Students at ITT Technical Institute in St. Rose were invited to help a Westwego family get a brand-new start by serving as volunteers for the popular national television series Extreme Home Makeover.
Brad and Laura Usea were fortunate to have their family survive a battle with Hurricane Katrina, even though their home did take a nasty beating from the brutal storm. It was a second blow that caused further damage to the home. That blow was caused by a tornado, which ripped through their home.
Now, they are receiving a new home thanks to the television show and numerous volunteers.
Shultz Construction Company, from Picayune, Miss., contacted ITT Technical Institute looking for volunteers from their Drafting and Design School. Approximately 50 students and faculty members, along with friends and family, signed up to help the design team remodel a home in less than one week.
“The student volunteers, faculty members and friends were up early and really were committed to helping with this project,” ITT Tech’s Rhonda Christen said. “The first event the volunteers took part in was a pep rally that started at 6:30 a.m.”
Christen says, despite the cold weather, the students were on time and eager, as if they were building a home of their own.
“We’re glad the students are getting a chance to take part in a community project that is giving our students the opportunity for more hands on experience,” she said. “Even if you can’t always give money, time is just as important, especially when it comes to special outreach projects like this one.”
Christen says it was a complete surprise for the family.
“Sometimes you might see it on television and think the family knows,” she said. “It is truly a surprise for the family, and information about who, what and where is not released until after the famous door knock by Ty Pennington.”
Christen says the family is away on vacation and will remain there until the house is finished.
A company that manufactures a round house, Deltec Homes, is in charge of the design and has built the family a hurricane-resistant structure, which they will own.
“The house is circular so that in the event of a storm the wind really has no direct impact. It shears around the structure,” Joseph Schlenk, director of sales and marketing for the company, said. “The home will be 3,910-square-feet and the structure will be sound.”
Schlenk says his company manufactures the circular or dome-like houses all across the country and has been making this house style since 1968.
“Each of our employees wrote a message on the walls as the structure went up just to let the family know we’re concerned and we’re thinking about them,” he said. “One employee wrote ‘God bless everyone who is working on this home for this family.’”
The volunteers began creating the house on Saturday and will be finished by Wed., March 12.
“The episode will air on the ABC network on May 18,” Christen said. “It’s been an exciting adventure working with and meeting people from all over the country who volunteered their time to assist the Usea family rebuild their lives.”
In a race against the clock on a project that would ordinarily take months to achieve, a team of designers and hundreds of workmen have just seven days to completely rebuild an entire house – every single room, plus the exterior and landscaping for a deserving family.
“No one plays a small role in this process because every little bit helps and every little bit counts,” Christen said. “The students are excited and inspired to be a part of such an important project.”
Be the first to comment