Browns Players in the Community

[Fooleeze]

I've been visiting the Cleveland "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" site, and today got a glimpse of Alex Mack doing some work on the house. Apparently a few players visited the site after practice today. Got a picture of Mack below for your enjoyment. Nice to see them out and involved.

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

Awesome man, thanks for sharing! I heard something about this one= the radio yesterday. Anyone know when this will air?

[hammertime]

volunteers huh?

beleive it that these guys from marouse bros. were asked in a specific way to "lend" there time.

i'm sure the familiy will enjoy the results as will the press that marouse bros. get.

talk about a 'fast track' job

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

Maple Heights family gets new home from ABC's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'

Published: Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 11:59 AM Updated: Thursday, September 30, 2010, 8:31 AM



John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer
Jasmine Anderson of Maple Heights, center, hugs members of Marous Brothers Construction, whose crew will be in charge of rebuilding her family's home. Jasmine and her husband Andre Anderson are seeing-impaired and are rearing two sons, one with a hearing-impairment. ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will rebuild their home. The show's designer Michael Moloney is second right and host Ty Pennington is at far right.





MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio — Andre and Jasmine Anderson and their two sons received a big, rewarding surprise Wednesday morning from Ty Pennington and the crew of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

The family will receive a new four-bedroom home.

Both parents are visually impaired and one son is hearing impaired. The new home will be "smart," meaning it will be equipped with technologies that support people with disabilities, said Kim Craig, spokeswoman for Middlefield-based KraftMaid Cabinetry, which is one of the makeover sponsors.
"When I realized we were the winners, it was just so awesome," Jasmine said as she stood outside her home with her family Wednesday evening. "I never would have imagined in 1,000 years this would happen to us. I just thank God."
The "Extreme Makeover" crew, Marous Brothers Construction of Willoughby and Greater Cleveland volunteers are razing the Andersons' 1,200-square-foot home on Anthony Street, where they have lived for eight years.
A new home, more than double the size of their original, 50-year-old house, will be built by Tuesday. Crews will work around the clock.
Andre, 37, Jasmine, 32, and sons Jaison and Jahzion face many day-to-day challenges in their cramped and structurally dangerous two-story home, Craig said. Andre lost his sight to diabetic retinopathy and Jasmine is progressively losing her sight from the same ailment. She is considered legally blind. Jaison is hearing impaired.
During the demolition and construction, the family will stay at the Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte, Colo., a resort that specializes in improving the quality of life for people with disabilities through outdoor adventure activities.
The family's old house had a damp basement, crumbling porch, a roof with missing parts and broken windows, Craig said. The home also had loose wiring, mold, holes in the floor and cracked, uneven pavement. The house was so crowded it was even hard to make room for Andre's guide dog, Valentine.
KraftMaid will have 200 employees volunteering on site. The company has participated in the show since it debuted in 2004.
Sue Marous of Marous Brothers said the Andersons were one of about five Greater Cleveland families who were candidates for the makeover.
"The theme of the show is to find heroes and people who are reaching out to the community," she said. In spite of their problems, she added, the Andersons are doing what they can to help others who are struggling with losing their sight.
Working out of their home, the Andersons have a service called the Disability Awareness Center. The center does presentations at schools and businesses about the lives of people with a disability.
"Extreme Makeover" has reached its capacity for volunteers, but more supplies and monetary donations are needed.
"We have to supply 5,000 meals while this is going on," Marous said.
In addition, money is needed to help cover the cost of building materials, supplies, labor and other miscellaneous out-of-pocket expenses.
For more information on donations, go to extremehome.marousbrothers.com. There you also can follow the home's progress as it is built.
The Andersons are the 177th family to be featured on the show -- now in its eighth season -- that airs at 8 p.m. Sundays on WEWS Channel 5. The episode featuring the Andersons is slated to air in early December.
Soon after the family learned they were chosen, neighbors hauled out lawn chairs to watch the action.
"I'm going to be back and forth watching the progress," said Janice Gordon, 47, who lives at the other end of the lengthy street. "I'm truly excited for them. Truly."
Vanessa Fleming, 25, said she is happy for the family, too. But she was checking back and forth for another reason. "I love that show," she said. "It's one of my favorites."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: rwashington@plaind.com, 216-999-4427

[Fooleeze]

Rumor I heard is that it will air sometime in December, but don't quote me on that.

While I was at the site on Thursday night, I spoke to several Marous Bros. employees, and they were all SUPER nice, and willing to talk and answer questions. I've got a really good impression of them and the company.

[hiwaygal]

In my experience, most people are generally good hearted and will help a family/community in need when asked. Sometimes you just have to ask.

I've heard that most of these home contractors are kinda "strongly encouraged" to participate, but I think in the end they enjoy themselves and the accomplishment they were a part of.

EH has had some issues with the homes they have provided. Many of the beneficiaries can't afford to keep the home that was rebuilt for them. I hope there is a better plan for that now. I haven't watched the show in years.

[Fooleeze]

I've heard that as well, but only from the early seasons. Now they make sure they do not have any mortage at all, and I believe sometimes they get donations to help with taxes as well. One of the issues that other people had was that they took out a second mortage, or a home equity line against their newly valuable house, and couldn't pay that off.

In a nutshell, I don't believe that problem has existed for a few years now.

[Fooleeze]

After a little further research, there are 3-4 families that have been found to have possibly lost their homes. In all cases the families took out additional mortgages against the equity in their home. One in particular took out additional mortages to the amount of about $700,000 to fund a new construction business that failed.

So, the people who 'couldn't afford their homes' were because they made poor financial decisions against their newly acquired asset, not because EMHE 'doomed' them with this financial burden.

[hiwaygal]

LOL...maybe they ought to make arrangements for these families to get some financial counseling/planning.

I'm glad to hear that some of the earlier problems are not really happening anymore. I think the idea is to really help these families and it's sad if the help...well...doesn't.

[Tobalaz]

I've seen in recent seasons that a trust is usually set up to provide for the taxes.
If anyone is losing their homes now it's because of them making bad financial decisions, not being able to afford them no longer applies.

But...
It's fantastic to see some of the guys giving back through not just checks, but personal time as well. It really creates a sense of community.