With "Extreme Makeover" Gone, An Opportunity Remains

First things first: our heartfelt congratulations to everyone involved with the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” project in the Myrtle Beach area this past week. From the show’s producers and workers to the businesses that donated materials to the hundreds of dedicated volunteers who banded together on behalf of a deserving family in need, it was truly a magical experience.

OK. Now, a question:

What’s next?

As cynical or sarcastic as I can be from time to time, that’s really not my intent when I ask this. Nor am I trying, in any way, to minimize the wonderful deed done here. I guess this is less a question and more a challenge – to seize a unique opportunity that this experience leaves us, long after the ABC production crews have moved on to the next project.

Issac Bailey of The Sun News correctly points out that, amid our excitement over the show, countless organizations and individuals on the Grand Strand soldier on, every day, to help the needy. To Mr. Bailey’s point, it’s also worth echoing the compelling thoughts of Derek Jennings of The Independent Weekly, who penned a must-read piece in the afterglow of the December 2006 “Extreme Makeover” project in Raleigh, N.C. Among Mr. Jennings’ musings:

• “When an Olympics or major sporting event comes to an area, stadiums and other local improvements are left behind. Also left behind is the capacity for event planning and logistics that can be used on future projects. When all is said and done, I'd like to see an Extreme Makeover: Community Edition, in which we use the lessons learned from the TV-inspired rebuilding of the Rigginses' home in Raleigh. We have a unique opportunity to use the intangible infrastructure left behind.”
• “Envision, if you can, citizens, local government and the business community coming together to regularly provide much-needed repairs for local nonprofits and needy families. Picture, then, the model expanding beyond the building trades, to include information technology, financial and professional services. That would be truly extreme. That would be a foundation worth building on.”

This scenario is not unlike what happened in 1980, when a small group of caring volunteers got together with a very simple purpose: to brighten the day of a 7-year-old boy with leukemia, who had dreams of one day becoming a police officer. They granted the boy’s wish, and gave him a moment of euphoria at a time he truly needed it most. Though the boy passed away not long after his wish, the grassiest of grassroots movements was about to spark a global phenomenon.

That same small group of volunteers felt the power and magic of what they did for that sick little boy, and came away compelled to do the same for others. That’s how innocently the Make-A-Wish Foundation was conceived, and 27 years later more than 150,000 critically ill kids worldwide have experienced the same magic.

Here on the Grand Strand, we take joy in the fact that a spectacular new home has risen, and a needy family has benefited. Let’s also recognize that no matter how grand or simple the scale, others can – and should – continue to benefit from a similar spirit of caring.