Adrian Finch, Life Editor

            On Saturday morning, under blue skies and a bright sun, thousands of volunteers, construction workers and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition crewmembers gathered together in a frenzy to finish the rebuild of 228 Massachusetts Ave. for the Powell family.

            Only a week ago, after tearing down a home deemed ready for demolition, host Ty Pennington, designers Michael Maloney, Paige Hemmis and Eduardo Xol, and local building company David Homes began their seven-day revamp of not only the Powell’s home, but countless homes in the West Side of Buffalo.

            Involving nearly 5,000 volunteers, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, David Homes, PUSH Buffalo, United Rentals and WNY AmeriCorps carried out Delores Powell’s wish for a more secure and clean community.

            Delores Powell, 49, and her four children Joel, 18, Gabrielle, 16, Deborah, 15, and Anschel, 10, spent five and a half years pouring money into repairs for their barely livable home as it slowly crumbled around them.

            After hearing the family’s story and Delores’s dedication to transforming the community with the non-profit organization People United for Sustainable Housing, Extreme Makeover arrived with a sense of hope and the purpose for a better tomorrow.

 

Revealing hope

 

            Thousands crowded on Massachusetts Avenue early in the morning to witness the last-minute scramble and greet the Powell family.

            The street filled quickly and left no standing room so people began to sit on balconies, porches, steps and rooftops, holding up signs of encouraging messages and cheering for the family’s arrival.

            Amid the crowd was popular singer Ashanti, City of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and members of the Buffalo Jills, all gathering together to support the family and the community.

            As the Powells arrived by limousine and Pennington stepped out to greet the five, the crowd erupted in clapping and screams as they said, “Move that bus.”

            A contemporary, dark green two-story house with tall windows, a small porch and blooming landscaping replaced the yellow, battered siding and collapsing foundation of the old house.

            The Powell family appeared overcome with emotion and gratitude and they ran to their new front door, hugging those in their path and crying to the crowd and volunteers.

            “This project has been way more influential [than I ever thought],” Lazzara said. “I’ve been calling it Extreme Makeover: Neighborhood Edition.”

 

Going green

 

            David Stapleton, president of David Homes, has been building environmentally friendly and energy efficient homes for over 14 years.

            Stapleton donated his time, employees’ labor and some of the materials and resources used for the build, and worked with thousands of eager volunteers throughout the week to finish the home in seven days.

            Jim McGinnis, chief of staff for The Tabernacle Church in Orchard Park, was a part of David Homes’ team for five years and was an active member in the rebuild of the Powell family’s house.

            According to McGinnis, members of Extreme Makeover and David Homes were at the site virtually 24 hours a day. McGinnis said that this build is one of two certified green homes in New York and is Extreme Makeover’s greenest project yet.

            Powell’s home includes a special environmentally friendly driveway, specifically dug at 4 feet deep to capture rainwater underground. This water is stored and can be used to water their grass naturally without using public water.

            Four tanks on the side of the house act as a rain capturing system. When it rains, the tanks collect water and store it for the family’s use, eliminating the cost, need and waste of city water.

 

A call to service

 

            With the sheer mass of volunteer power, Extreme Makeover was able to reach out to the community, some say changing it forever.

            “The story is about the family, but more importantly, Western New York saw an area become revitalized with teamwork,” McGinnis said.

            The community has benefitted from new paint jobs for three houses on Normal Avenue, a cleaning of four vacant lots and a new park on Plymouth Avenue, McGinnis said.

            Mark Lazzara, CEO of WNY AmeriCorps, helped to manage the 5,000 volunteers.

            “I have amazing staff who have continued to add projects and projects … we have done about 55 projects, including new roofs, porches and siding that were about $25,000 in labor [this week,]” Lazzara said.

            Lazzara said that many families in the community have shared heartwarming stories about the generosity and support of the volunteers.

            “Western New York volunteers have been amazing. They come out and continue to give,” Lazzara said. “We went into [a house] and provided water to a family that hasn’t ever had hot water … no one wants to live without hot water, and no one wants to freeze.”

            Lazzara and his volunteers are constantly trying to improve communities in Western New York, he said.

            WNY AmeriCorps urges others to reach out to those in need to sustain the changes that volunteers have brought to the community.

            “We want to make a difference in this city … by the power of volunteers and commitment and love,” Lazzara said.

 

A united community

 

            Reverends Al and Deb Warner have lived in Tonawanda for 20 years and were among the volunteers in blue shirts and white hardhats from The Tabernacle.

            “[We’re] actively involved in trying to resurrect a community that has had some hard times … it’s going to take a lot of motivation [to keep this up],” Al said.

            Discussing the improvements the volunteers have made, including planting over 120 trees and adding new siding and paint to houses, the couple felt that compassion was a motivating factor for thousands to come together and help.

            “I think there’s a cry that this is our city,” Al said.

            With the help of David Homes, volunteers were provided the materials to fix and improve houses in the area.

            Herminia Gonzalez, 47, lives directly across the street from the Powells and has known the family for almost six years.

            Volunteers tore down her sinking front porch and built new steps, providing a safer entryway for her and her family, in an effort to offer the family a small sense of security.

            “Before, it was a bad neighborhood,” Gonzalez said. “But we all helped each other … now we’re going to keep it up. We’re not going to let anyone destroy this.”

 

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