Nov. 12, 2010
This Sunday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. CT, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition comes to Nashville to rebuild the Lighthouse Christian School. A sneak peek is available here, and below is a brief Commodore Nation piece on three VU bowlers that helped with the project last month.
As soon as Brittni Hamilton saw the e-mail, she was in.
Hamilton, a junior member of the Vanderbilt women’s bowling team, had just received an e-mail asking for volunteers for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The television show was going to be in town to rebuild Lighthouse Christian’s preschool, which was demolished during Nashville’s devastating May flood.
“I’ve always wanted to volunteer for Extreme Makeover,” Hamilton said. “I tried to get anybody on the team to do it with me. We were all excited about it.”
Teammates Kim Carper and Amanda Halter were more than happy to sign on. On Sept. 16, after going to practice and finishing their homework, the three headed to the site at 11 p.m. and worked until 6 a.m.
They performed various duties, including unloading appliances for the kitchen, rearranging furniture and staging rooms with toys.
“One man was painting and doing electrical work,” said Carper, a sophomore. “His kids went to this school. He and his wife were really passionate because they had an emotional connection. He talked about all the people he knew who were volunteering. It was really touching to hear.”
Halter, a senior, had an internship during the summer that involved interviewing country music stars about the flood. But it wasn’t until she volunteered that the devastation became palpable.
“It was shocking,” Halter said. “But seeing everyone come together this summer, willing to volunteer even though it had been months, was amazing.”
The episode is scheduled to air in November. The women’s bowling team will be competing in the Fairleigh Dickson Invitational in Howell, N.J., beginning Nov. 5.
