BILLINGS - Last Saturday the Carter family, of Billings, was surprised with a home makeover by the show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
Now, a week later, they will get to see their new home that thousands of volunteers have built for them. Friday afternoon construction wrapped-up and the interior design began, courtesy a household of furniture from Ashley Home Furniture.
It has been a whirlwind four days for construction crews building the Carter family's new home. Friday afternoon, right on schedule, Jeff Junkert passed the house keys off to the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition design team to work their magic on the inside.
"It's going to have a lot of open spaces and we're taking their situation into consideration with every step," said Michael Moloney, show designer.
Junkert said the construction of the estimated $500,000 home has been an amazing ride. "We're excited to see the Carter's get it," said Junkert. "It's going to be pretty emotional I think on both sides. This has probably been the most bonding experience I've ever had with my employees in 32 years. I'm looking forward to where we're going from here."
So, folks cannot see what is going on inside the house, but what they can see is what is going on outside the house and in the community. It is a grassroots fundraising effort for the Carter's.
"Yes, come and bring money and donate," shouted the ladies of the bucket brigade. "It's a great cause."
The bucket brigade is out at the site collecting donations for the Carter family.
Then, there is Amy Donsbach and her son, Dustin, and other volunteers who took their hard hats from the construction site to the streets to fill with donations; in just two hours, they raised $765. "You know, this is what we need to do for each other," said Amy Donsbach.
So far, donations have reached about $14,000. That money will go to pay off the family's $65,000 mortgage on their old home, and to help ease some serious medical debt they have from handfuls of brain surgeries related to a hereditary disease.
The big reveal is Saturday between 1-3 p.m. The show's crew is asking folks who are coming out to please bring umbrellas and water, due to the heat. The Carter family episode is set to air sometime in October.
To find out how you can make a donation to the Carter family, go to www.kulr8.com and click on connections.