Home makeover TV show looking for Clinton area’s help

By Samantha Pidde

CLINTON — For six TV seasons, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” has been traveling across the country featuring families and providing home makeovers for these families.

Now, as it is beginning the planning for its seventh season, the show is putting out a call for nominations of families in Iowa.

Each episode of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is self-contained and spans a seven-day period. The episode begins with team leader, Ty Pennington’s “Good morning!” wake-up call when his team surprises the chosen family with the news that their house will be getting a makeover. The show’s designers, several hundred volunteer workers and contractors then totally rebuild the entire property — including every single room of the house, plus the exterior and landscaping — into a home that better fits the family’s needs.

“We look for really compelling and deserving families. You know, families who go above and beyond in their community, placing volunteerism ahead of problem areas in their home,” said Lindsay Spaulding, family casting associate for the show, in a telephone interview.

Spaulding said the show is looking for individuals and families who are involved in organizations and are trying to make a difference. She said this season is featuring a hero theme. She said they are looking for people who could be considered heroes in the community or simply within their family.

“Hero is a wide term. This could be, ‘Mom has sacrificed so much for the family that she's a hero to the kids,’” said Spaulding.

Spaulding said the person could also be considered a hero if they have a family member with a disability and they work to raise funds and awareness for that disability. She said a person running a food drive could be considered a hero. Spaulding said they are looking for someone who has taken something that happened to them and turned it around, is working to conquer it and turn it into a positive thing.

“We like to focus on families that are in dire need for a new home, but they're doing something above and beyond,” said Spaulding.

Spaulding said having the show make over a home can make a real impact on a family. If the house has any safety or accessibility issues, the show will address them. She said having a new home and having any concerns or issues taken care of can relieve a lot of stress and worry for a person.

“Now instead of coming home and just being concerned with perhaps dangerous aspects of the home, they can just focus on the family and the community around them,” said Spaulding.

Spaulding said they are always looking to go to new areas and open up opportunities. She said the show has not had an Iowa family in a while and decided to look for families in the state. She said “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” offers a great experience for the chosen family and the community.

“Not only does it really help out a family in need and a deserving family at that, but it really brings the community together, from builders to people that are volunteering their time, donating services and products,” said Spaulding. She said they have a wide range of people — from children to seniors — who want to volunteer.

“All types of people coming together to help a family is one of the most sensational things anyone can imagine,” said Spaulding.

She said one of the reasons the show has continued as long as it has is because it is such a heartfelt show.

“I mean it's pretty remarkable to watch a brand new home be constructed in a week,” said Spaulding.

Spaulding said people still have time to nominate a family. The deadline for nominations has been extended to Nov. 20 to allow more people to get nominations in. She encourages people to get their nominations in as quickly as possible.

Each nomination must include the names and ages of every member of the household and a description of the major challenges within the home. A person should explain why the nominated family is deserving, heroic or a good role model for the community. If possible, the nomination should include a recent picture of the family. All nominations must include a contact phone number. For more information, visit http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/index?pn=apply or send an e-mail to iowacasting@gmail.com.

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