As you know, tomorrow marks the start of the Extreme Makeover Home Edition taking place here in Erie. In addition to the family being helped, there are also efforts under way to help improve the neighborhood as well as the families around the build site.

I asked Danielle Hartland, communications director at Grace Church, who is coordinating this project, to tell everyone a bit more about what they are doing and how we can help.

ErieBlogs.com has donated 8 restaurant gift certificates for the families, and we hope you and/or your business will help a little as well.

As most of you know by now, Extreme Makeover Home Edition is coming to Erie this week! Our community has been amazing (and that’s putting it mildly). There have been far more volunteers step forward than the developer can handle.

So, Maleno Development has asked a group of organizations to complete a side project to help surrounding neighbors and the neighborhood during the build. Grace Church is coordinating this “side project” effort. You do not need to be part of an organization or group to volunteer or contribute. We will make every effort to use each person who signs up. This is a big undertaking and we need all the help we can get!

The Erie community has greater needs than just one house or one neighborhood. After the cameras are gone and ABC pulls out of Erie, our community will still be facing issues like poverty, homelessness, teen pregnancy, students dropping out of school, etc. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pull together as a community. Our hope is that, as hundreds of volunteers work together, the spirit of volunteerism will continue in our community for many years to come.

What We Hope to Accomplish:

1. Neighborhood cleanup and landscaping
2. Individual home yard cleanup and landscaping
3. Provide each home in the neighborhood with care packages full of gift cards and necessities

The Needs:

Please visit the Side Project Page to do any of the following:

1. Volunteer

2. Make a monetary donation
3. Donate supplies, materials and/or gift cards

The Plan:

Thursday, 6/25:

• 3:00pm: Grace Team finds out which neighborhood we’ll be serving

• 5:00pm: VOLUNTEER REGISTRATION CUT OFF
• Intensive planning and volunteer scheduling

Friday, 6/26:

• Get all last minute donations

• Email all registered volunteers with serving time, details and requirements
• 7:00pm Site Leader meeting at Grace Church

Sunday, 6/27-July 1:

• WORK DAYS

Specific Info About Donating:

There is no budget for this side project and we are basically starting from scratch with only a few days to pull together all of the resources and volunteers to make it happen. If you are able to provide cash to help underwrite the purchase of supplies or if you are able to donate supplies – it would be greatly appreciated. In that we still don’t know the location of the house or the neighborhood, we don’t have exact numbers. Although, we do know that we will need large amounts of mulch, trees and plantings, cleaning supplies, paint, etc. We are estimating that we’ll need $25,000 in cash and donations to adequately refurbish this neighborhood.