Contact:
Kreg
Gillman
Executive Director
800-848-9819
www.provocanyon.com
Provo Canyon School Extreme Home Makeover
Provo Canyon School Boys’ campus was recently involved
in an extensive service project in which a local family’s home
and yard was completely renovated. The following is a letter from
the Home Makeover committee. Provo Canyon truly was the shining
star of this amazing project.
Dear Provo Canyon School:
On behalf of Utah’s Own Extreme Makeover Team, we wanted to let
you know just how incredible your boys are at Provo Canyon School.
A remarkable family in Pleasant Grove, Utah, consists of 20 children,
sixteen of which were adopted from six different countries. Most
of the biological and adopted children have disabilities, some
physical, some emotional; two of the children are in wheelchairs.
On May 14, this family experienced a tragic house fire. The home
was quite large (8000 square feet), and was situated on a one
acre unfinished and weed-filled lot. In addition to the repairs
required to address extensive fire damage, the home was in need
of significant renovation.
In mid-July, a committee was formed with the dream of rebuilding
this family’s home and providing a yard. Local businesses, contractors,
and volunteers were contacted and asked to assist and donate their
time, supplies, and expertise. The goal was to rebuild the home
in only 10 days!
In late July our team coordinator presented an assembly at the
boys’ campus. Her goal was to share this family’s story and enlist
the help of Provo Canyon students. The response was extremely
positive, with an excited reaction from the crowd; nearly all
of the boys wanted to be involved.
Every day we had a rigorous timeline for construction. We started
August 1 with the intention of completing the work and presenting
the home to the family on August 10. It was a very stressful project
with an almost unrealistic timeline. Each day was filled with
anxiety; we could only hope that volunteers would respond. Provo
Canyon School, literally, saved our scheduled punch list every
day. The boys came day after day, seemingly at just the right
moment and worked tirelessly to allow us to stay on schedule.
It was very hot and the work was difficult; the boys cleared
garbage, dug trenches, ripped out carpet, painted walls, hauled
dry wall, moved lumber, laid sod, and set concrete pillars for
fencing. They worked hours and hours in the hot sun without complaint.
In all, over 100 Provo Canyon students and staff logged more than
1100 man hours of hard labor. Numerous contractors on the job
site asked “who are the great workers in the green shirts? We
want to hire them!” People from all over the community were simply
amazed at the students’ willingness to help and at their unselfish
attitudes.
Many of the students involved were able to attend the family’s
“homecoming”. As the Provo Canyon boys came on to the property,
a crowd of nearly 500 people stood and cheered, recognizing the
students’ amazing and irreplaceable contribution in making this
dream become a reality.
Our heartfelt thanks goes out to each and every one of these
boys who unselfishly gave of himself to help a family in need.
This was a life-changing experience for everyone involved, and
our lives were particularly touched by the boys of Provo Canyon
School. Thank you Provo Canyon for making this project a huge
success. We couldn’t have done it without you!!
Sincerely,
Utah’s Own Home Makeover Team
