CRAWFORD, NY

We were absolutely blessed to be a part of Extreme Makeover’s Home Edition benefiting the Korpai family in Crawford, NY. They have an adorable five year old daughter who has dwarfism. This has inspired the family to become advocates for increasing understanding and reducing ignorance toward little people.

As you likely know, all materials and time are donated by hundreds of volunteers. When we arrived at the building site we were struck by the sea of vehicles and huge number of folks working hard to construct this home. It puts an instant smile on your face and joy in your heart to see so many come together to give. There is nothing like one of these building sites. It’s a beautiful, chaotic mess which somehow ties itself into a lovely organized bow in one week!

When we were contacted by Extreme Home Makeover’s staff they asked us to give what we could. How could we refuse? We felt so grateful to be a part of this. The enthusiasm of the Extreme Makeover staff, the magnitude of the project and the generous spirit of the collective group of volunteers were inspiring.

We decided to add some style and flavor to this project. So, we gave about 1000 SF of antique heart pine (reclaimed from the Revere Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn, NY), about 400 ft of wood reclaimed from the Coney Island Boardwalk, 200 square foot of reclaimed oak and another 200 square foot of reclaimed mushroom wood. We donated the material and our production guys donated their time and labor to mill the material. What charitable employees we have! The designers we met with had some creative ideas for the material. They mentioned using it for ceiling paneling, finish trim, furniture and outdoor garden benches.

When we drove there to make the delivery it poured rain for the entire hour drive. Tom and I rode in the flatbed. Ron, Christina, Hannah and Rachel rode the Ural motorcycle with the side cart. They were soaked. We arrived at the site and were surprised to find that it hadn’t rained a single drop. The crew didn’t experience any delays due to the nasty weather. To top it off, there was a rainbow arcing over the building site. Ron looked at me and said “Now that is karma.”