For the past three years, the 10 members of the Marshall family have lived in a three-bedroom house plagued by carbon monoxide leaks, mold and rotting wood. On Monday, the staff of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" presented the family with a brand new 4,250 square-foot split-level home, constructed in eight days by volunteers from the Upper Valley, including Dartmouth students.
The team of approximately 1,000 volunteers spent the last several days scraping rock, moving furniture, pouring tar, planting flowers, assembling play structures and painting rooms to prepare the family's house. The work was supported by services and supplies donated by over 500 local businesses.
"I worked on landscaping in the rain," said Joe Longacre, co-owner of Longacre's Nursery, a family-run garden business in Lebanon, N.H. "Usually, we would have 10 days or two weeks to do a project like this. We had a day and a half. It was an extreme makeover in an extremely short amount of time."
Kirsten Costello '10, who volunteered on the project with the rest of the Dartmouth women's softball team, said the project highlighted the importance of local community outreach, citing the Marshalls' own charitable work. The family organized the "Be Positive" initiative, a program to raise money for the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth, after their son 10 year-old Cameron was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago. The project has to date raised more than $100,000 $3,500 of which was raised by Cameron himself.
"You can do something in a third-world country, but there's also problems waiting in our own backyard," Costello said. "People have more of a connection with people living nearby. [The Marshalls] have done great things for others, and we should do something for them."
The Tucker Foundation was among several non-profit organizations involved in affordable housing who came together to lend volunteers to the project. Jan-Roberta Tarjan, senior program officer for local service at the Tucker Foundation, estimated before construction was completed that approximately 70 students would volunteer to help build the house, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Those Dartmouth students joined other community volunteers, as well as the Marshall's relatives and friends, to greet the family on Monday, cheering for the cameras as television crews filmed the house's unveiling.
Shouts of "Move that bus!" began as the show's crew moved the Extreme Home Makeover bus, which is traditionally parked in front of the new house to block the family's view.
Members of the Marshall family, who were on vacation in Disney World while the construction was completed, cried with joy and jumped up and down upon seeing their new home.
The house's open design includes large windows, as well as a balcony and a chimney, and contains six bedrooms: three shared-suites for the six younger siblings, and single rooms for the family's two oldest children.
Many bystanders expressed their approval of the new residence.
"I left [the site] this morning at 2 a.m. It's beautiful," said Apryl Blake, a volunteer who attended the unveiling with her children. "The kitchen is unbelievable."
Others praised the collective volunteer effort.
"Sometimes when there's no place to turn, and it feels like there's no hope, people just find a way to reach out," Chris Melkonian, a volunteer, said. "There's always a way."
The Extreme Home Makeover Home Edition episode is set to air on Oct. 18, according to an article previously published in The Dartmouth.
