Along with celebrity host Ty Pennington, viewers of tonight’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” season finale may catch a glimpse of a former Pioneer High School student.
April Sjoholm, who graduated in Pioneer’s class of 1994 and whose family still lives in Royal Center, works for The Estridge Companies, the Carmel firm hired by the show’s producers Lock and Key to design and build a new home for the McFarlands, a single Indianapolis father and his three sons.
Sjoholm helped pack the McFarland family up and move them out of their home, in the Martindale-Brightwell neighborhood, a low-income area, before the building effort began.
Sjoholm was also responsible for transportation of VIPs and volunteers from the staging area to the home during the week-long build.
“It was a real eye-opening experience,” Sjoholm said. “The family is a single dad and three teenage boys who all lived in one bedroom. It was a very small bedroom, too.”
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” now in its sixth season, is a reality show that every week surprises a family suffering from a recent or ongoing hardship by building a new home in seven days. The Emmy Award-winning show relies on local construction companies and labor from volunteers to complete the work on deadline.
Sjoholm’s mother, Barb Nies, was one of around 5,000 volunteers for the build, handing out fliers to neighbors informing them of what was going on.
“It was really an experience,” Nies said. “So many houses there were boarded up, but everyone was interested in what was happening and willing to help, which was so great. It was unbelievable.”
Sjoholm said the project was the biggest thing that Estridge had ever done which, as viewers will see, benefited the community as a whole, not just the McFarland’s home.
During the 106 hours worked during the week, 22 other homes were repainted, five miles of alleys graded, empty lots cleared and re-seeded, and two abandoned homes were demolished and hauled away.
While Extreme Makeover’s work for the family is complete, Sjoholm said, the company’s commitment to the neighborhood will continue.
“At first, I was excited that ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ was coming for the season finale in Indianapolis, but then we thought about how we can help more people improve their homes and lives in that neighborhood to make it a better place after they had done the show,” she said.
Estridge is now working on other projects to benefit families in the area, including converting an old school into a community center, repairing streets and homes and offering free Internet access and computers to residents.
“It is definitely a forgotten neighborhood, and it is good see the neighborhood get this kind of attention,” Sjoholm said. “We had 5,000 volunteers there wanting to help out, and even now we are still getting people wanting to know what they can do to help.”
• Kevin Smith is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5148 or kevin.smith@pharostribune.com
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
Pioneer alum involved in ‘Extreme Makeover’
Indianapolis family is recipient of show’s help.
- Local News
-
-
Eyes on the skies: Grissom air traffic crews super busy with Super Bowl
As Indianapolis gears up for the Super Bowl, Grissom Air Reserve Base air traffic controllers are preparing for a full-on blitz of game-bound fans flying through their airspace.
-
‘Clerical error’ might cost Logan $20K
A “clerical error” in calculating retirement benefits may cost Logansport $20,000, city officials say.
-
Jurors convict Flora man of attempted rape
Jurors took just four hours Thursday afternoon to convict a Flora man of attempted rape, criminal confinement, battery and receiving stolen property.
-
LHS’ video clip will rock big screens in Indy
About 40 Logansport High School students - and their non-dancing principal - will hit the big screens Friday.
-
City seeks trial in Fire Stone suit
Attorneys representing Logansport have asked for a jury trial to settle the city’s long-running dispute with the owner of Fire Stone Grill.
-
Peru to annex 1,000 acres
In 2007, the city of Peru annexed 66 acres near U.S. 24 with hopes of enticing business to the area. But Peru Mayor Jim Walker says that was just the beginning.
-
Space issues at Pioneer Elementary push students into hallways, closets
Kindergartner Avery Smith and his literacy coach played a game Tuesday in a hallway at Pioneer Elementary School.
-
Three interested in Logan police pension board
Three candidates with ties to the Logansport Police Department are interested in serving on the Police Pension Board — a board in need of members after a falling out with Mayor Ted Franklin.
-
1 injured in semi-car collision
A 55-year-old Walton man was “doing fairly well” Tuesday night following an early morning crash where his car was hit by a semitrailer, a spokesman for the Miami County Sheriff’s Department said.
-
Walton man severely injured in crash
A 55-year-old Walton man was transported to a Kokomo hospital early Tuesday with massive head and upper body injuries after hitting a semi on U.S. 31.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life
Army Orders Bradley Manning Court-martial
Cancer Charity Revives Breast-screening Grants
Heavy Snowstorm Hits Colorado On Its Way East
2nd Teacher From LA School Arrested on Sex Claim
Prosecutors Close Armstrong Inquiry, No Charges
Sights and Sounds: Football Fans Pour Into Indy
Unemployment Rate Down to 8.3%
Obama: Still Far Too Many Americans Need Jobs
GOP: Jobs Numbers Welcome, Can Do Better
Fla. Man Adopts Girlfriend in Legal Battle
More Deaths As Egypt Clashes Continue
Raw Video: Prince William in Falklands
Egpyt Protesters Blame Police for Soccer Deaths
'Lucky' 9-Year-Old Receives 6-Organ Transplant
Raw Video: Michelle Vs. Ellen in Pushup Contest
First Person: Will Peyton Manning Stay in Indy?
Egypt Shaken After Deadly Soccer Riot
New Suits, New Starts for New York's Unemployed
Hall of Famer Dorsett Speaks Out on NFL Injuries
