The season finale of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will air on Sunday evening, May 16, 2010, on ABC at 8:00 p.m. Eastern/7:00 p.m. Central time. This episode will feature the Williams family and the show’s first modular home, built by Palm Harbor Homes, Inc. and its wholly-owned modular subsidiary, Nationwide Homes, Inc., in Pine Mountain Valley, Georgia.
Jeremy Williams, the young father in this episode, is a successful local high school football coach who was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease in 2008. This fatal, progressive disease affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord which interferes with the brain’s ability to control muscle movement. More than half of those affected with ALS live 3 to 5 years after their diagnosis. The timing of this particular episode, however, is serendipitous in that May is also ALS Awareness Month. Its airing on May 16 will draw national attention to Jeremy’s story and the need to find a cure for this disease.
Palm Harbor and Nationwide Homes are coordinating on several different projects leading up to the airing of the show to help raise awareness and donations for The ALS Association. First of all, a Jeremy Williams Tribute Site has been set up for those wishing to donate to The ALS Association in Jeremy’s honor. Secondly, the Company’s 55 stores across the country will be focusing on ALS Awareness and distributing informational materials about the disease.
One of the most exciting projects includes Mark McGuinn, a Nashville-based country music artist who, through the home makeover, came to know about Jeremy, his wife Jennifer, 8-year-old daughter Josie and 6-year old son Jacob, who was diagnosed with Spina Bifida before he was born. Mark was so impressed with the positive attitude and perseverance of Jeremy and his family in the face of this seeming calamity that he wrote and recorded a song about Jeremy and the Extreme Makeover event, titling it, “Move that Bus.” Mark has committed to donating a portion of all earnings from the song to The ALS Association. He will be touring with associates of Palm Harbor and Nationwide and cast members of the show to raise awareness of ALS and promote sales of the song in the week prior to the airing of the show on Sunday, May 16, 2010.
This season finale of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition will feature Ty Pennington, the design team, Nationwide and Palm Harbor Homes, and the Pine Mountain community working together to build the Williams family a new, 4,000 square foot, energy efficient home. The home is fully handicapped accessible to accommodate the special needs of Jeremy and Jacob. Like all of Palm Harbor and Nationwide’s homes, this home was built in an environmentally-protected building center by skilled and experienced company associates and set on site in one day. For more information about this project, the family and information on how to donate to The ALS Association or get Mark McGuinn’s song,
About The ALS Association: The ALS Association is the only non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease on every front. By leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships, The Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure.
