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Tour ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ home
Family selling tickets to raise money for school
Published Wednesday, December 3, 2008
HAYWARD — People interested in seeing the recently completed home of Dirk and Susan DeVries — which was constructed as part of the ABC TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” — will soon have the chance to do so as part of a fundraiser for Hollandale Christian School.
Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Susie Petersen, who is helping to organize the event, said the opportunity to show the house was an idea thought up by the DeVries family themselves.
“So many people have been so wonderful in the community that they wanted to open it and show it,” Petersen said. “They were blessed so that’s what they want to do.”
Tours of the home will be given from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 13. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. The family will be there to greet those in attendance.
There will only be 2,500 tickets sold, with 300 people going through the house every hour, she said. All tickets have to be bought in advance.
People are encouraged to bring one food item for the Albert Lea Salvation Army food shelf, and the Hollandale Christian School will be selling coffee, hot cider and other refreshments.
Local musicians, including Julie Stoneking, Roxanne Irons, Jill Stevens, Lora Virgil, Sharon Astrup-Scott, Brock Besse, will be playing the DeVries family’s new piano inside the house as people are walking through.
Susie Petersen
Jared and Shanna Dawson will be performing music outside of the house, and the Albert Lea High School Caroliers will be there too.
The tour will come a week after the show airs on television. It will air at 7 p.m. Sunday.
“Extreme Makeover” producers knocked on the door of the DeVries family on Sept. 30. The next day they were sent on a vacation to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Larson Contracting and volunteer workers demolished their house Oct. 2 and began building a new home in about 100 hours. The house was finished on Oct. 5, and the keys to the new house were handed over Oct. 6. On Oct. 7 — the big day — the rain-soaked crowd of onlookers hollered, “Move that bus!” while the DeVrieses stood wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the surprise of seeing their new house. On Oct. 8, the family received more gifts from the community, including a new Ford pickup from Poet and ethanol producers.
Betty Nienoord, who goes to Hollandale Christian Reformed Church with the DeVries family, said the process of getting the application ready for the TV show began in April, when she and another friend, Beverly Draayer, were over at the old DeVries home helping to clean it because Susan had been ill.
The house was cold and drafty and it leaked when it rained, but the two friends didn’t know whether they should bring up the idea of the makeover, Nienoord said. They wanted to be delicate about the situation.
They suggested it to Susan one day, and Susan told them she thought it would be fun, Nienoord said. Susan told them to ask Dirk, and Dirk said, “Sure, let’s do it.”
Together with the family, they helped get the application ready and make a video to send off too.
Now that the makeover has passed, Nienoord said, the family brought up the idea of the open house tour that will have proceeds go to the Hollandale Christian School.
She said the tour will allow many people to get through the house in one day, while satisfying some curiosities that people have about it.
Limited tickets are available at the Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce, Doyle’s Hallmark, Addie’s Floral, Garden Diva and Hollandale Christian School.
Comments
Posted by rsgrandpa (anonymous) on December 3, 2008 at 12:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We have many friends in this beautiful town! Through our dear friends, the Bergo's we stay in touch with happenings there. What an honor to have Extreme-makeover visit Albert Lea and choose the De Vries family for this awesome project!
We had hopes of going there to see this tremendous gift and see how it is done in person. So, needless to say we will be glued to our television set this Sunday and watch the show1
Regards, Raul and Bernarda Santiago
Bulverde, TX
Posted by Wildbill (anonymous) on December 3, 2008 at 1:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
A great way to raise money for the school and to allow the general public the privilege to see the home.
Posted by bobbyg (anonymous) on December 3, 2008 at 5:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What an exciting tour!
I wish I could be there to meet the family and see their new house!
I hope it's a sell out!
Posted by Accy (anonymous) on December 3, 2008 at 5:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am saddened by the fact that the DeVries family is going to charge the community to see a home that so many people helped with and already donated to. I realize it is a fundraiser, but times are tough as they well know. When I was there as it was being built, I said I would open it up for a certain number of nights so the community that helped build it could see the fruits of their labor. I am very disappointed in their decision!
Posted by brokewhitegirl (anonymous) on December 3, 2008 at 11:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with Accy, its a good idea in theory, but when we (the community) are the ones that built and gave them this home (abc and makeover don't put a penny towards anything, its all donated) we should be able to see it. For free.
Posted by professional (anonymous) on December 4, 2008 at 1:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Stop feeling sorry for yourselves! Just be glad you were selected to be part of their home - what an honor. I think it is a wonderful idea and shows how the family keeps giving. Many places rely on fundraisers and I think this is a unique way to support the Hollandale Christian School and food shelf all in one. Just be thankful they are giving the community this opportunity as most makeover homes are probably never opened up to the public. Actually, I thought they should have charged each spectator vehicle $1 when it was being built because I knew the DeVries' family would have donated every single dollar to a worthwhile cause. If you truly would like to see the home and can not afford to pay, perhaps you could put it on your Christmas wish list.
Posted by bobbyg (anonymous) on December 4, 2008 at 8:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So there! 2 against 2
I agree with professional!
What a great thing for the Hollandale Christian School!
For those of you that are "a bunch of wet blankets", stay home!
You don't know a good thing when it practically bites you in the nose!
Posted by InterestedReader (anonymous) on December 4, 2008 at 8:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
3 against 2! I think this is a generous idea by the DeVries' Family to let people come into thier personal space. What a great way to raise money for good causes.
Posted by dutchess (anonymous) on December 6, 2008 at 2:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
4 against 2 and I bought tickets! This shows how very caring this family is they could have done it for themselves but chose not to. Thank-you DeVries family.
Posted by giving (anonymous) on December 7, 2008 at 2:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't believe this forum is to be used as a contest, it is to express your opinion whether you agree or disagree with this topic.
What a great gift the home is to the family. It is wonderful to let the public see the home, but is charging them the way to do this? I know that the town contributes, and gifts and talents are unselfishly given.
I know a young man who worked on a Makeover Home. He was more than happy to give of his time, when he could be working, and needed to be working, as they truly depended on his weekly checks.
These workers come in and do their part. They then leave and never get to see the finished product. Should they have to pay to see their labor?
Would it be better to do a free tour, of the home, to thank the residents?
Posted by brokewhitegirl (anonymous) on December 7, 2008 at 10:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Giving:
Thank you... That was my point exactly.
Posted by Momma23 (anonymous) on December 8, 2008 at 10:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I would like to think that most of the volunteers gave of their time for this project, knowing that they might not get anything in return. After all, isn't that the true spirit of giving? Those volunteers or donaters "expecting" to get a private showing of this home, seems a bit selfish, to me.
I think it is awesome that the DeVries family has opened up their home to the community for a day, in order to raise money for a worthy cause. How many of us would do the same? How many of us would want thousands of strangers parading through our home, tracking in mud, etc.? I think this act of generousity shows why the DeVries family was perfect for this EMHE gift. They will forever give back to the community without expecting anything in return. THAT is the true spirit of giving!
Posted by kona (anonymous) on December 9, 2008 at 8:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i agree that they should offer to allow people to walk through their home and raise money for a cause. if they didn't, they would have thousands of people going through and who honestly wants that?
for those who want to see it, i am sure abc has many images on their website, and it was aired on tv and viewable online.
Posted by sbahr (anonymous) on December 9, 2008 at 9:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is a sad state of affairs when people only give because they expect reciprocity. What happened to just giving because it feels good and it helps other people? Why are we so stuck on, "I gave you this, so you should give me that." Why can't it be "I gave you this, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed giving it!"
Obviously, the DeVries family has the idea of giving right. Dirk and Susan are very giving people, look what they did for that music class, making instruments out of nothing and giving of their time to create a love of music in these kids any way they could? And now, when the hype is all over, they are still giving and thinking of others. It's not like they're charging tickets to line their own pockets, they're donating to a worthy and needy school. Stop complaining about it. The workers aren't called "Volunteers" for nothing. No one forced anyone to sign up and help.
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