Here's something you won't see on television... while Shoemaker Homes, led by our youngest homebuilder-to-date, Scott Shoemaker, was building an amazing home for the Jones family, I was running around the job site with a behind-the-scenes camera in my hands. But this wasn't for anything that TV Guide will have in its lineup — this was for a little home project of mine. This year marks the 40th anniversary of my grade school, St. John Eudes, in a little town called Chatsworth, California, just north of Los Angeles. I was supposed to be their keynote speaker for a dedication ceremony they were holding, but duty called me away to this little town in Mississippi to help Sabrena, Marjon, Mardaireus and Marjiya Jones. But I didn't want to let my alma mater down, so instead of being there in person, I sent them a video of what life was like on the set of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It was actually really fun to borrow the "Ty Cam" and be my own cameraman for the week.
So here's what I caught on camera: Eduardo doing a "diversity and inspirational persons" room for Marjon, Johnny doing an African culture/music room for Mardaireus, Ty doing his secret room (a bedroom for Mom), and Michael decorating the rest of the house, plus an extra little bonus for Mom. My project for this week was taking care of the youngest member of the family, Marjiya. She loves the Cheetah Girls, and thanks to our friends at Disney, the girls were nice enough to send us a bunch of stuff to fill Marjiya's room full of goodies. The room is fun, colorful and cheetah-ish. Marjiya screamed in delight when she walked in. I would like to give special recognition to one of our vendors on EM:HE, Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network. You see it for just seconds on TV, but these guys take all of the family clothing and clean them for us, allowing for all their belongings to be pressed, and hanging in their closets when they come home. Very cool, I need that service! We used them extensively on this episode because of Sabrena's nonprofit clothing donation center; they cleaned hundreds of pounds of donated garments that she had collected for the less fortunate.
So, what brought us here to Mississippi in the first place? Why was this family so special? It's simple: we're rewarding a woman who has given so much to her community. Sabrena Jones was living in a very small, very dilapidated home, but you would never know it by her good deeds or her demeanor. This smiling angel took care of everyone else, collecting clothes to give to those in need and starting a medical-clothing supply business to provide discounted clothing to those in the medical profession. She even helped raise over a half million dollars to help Katrina victims, all while not even letting her close friends know that she was in dire straights. Sabrena is an example of a true giver; it was a true blessing to reward her.
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