IF YOU GOWhat: Extreme Home Makeover Pep RallyWhen: Tonight 6:30-8:30 p.m.Where: Chattanoogan hotel ballroomHow much: Free; canned-good donation encouraged
Staff with “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” hope to bring in 300,000 pounds of nonperishable food for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.
The drive begins tonight with a pep rally at The Chattanoogan hotel.
“We’ve never had a food drive that large,” said Gary Paul, development director with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. “We can use it. It won’t stay around long.”
Paul said the 300,000 pounds would be about one-third of what the food bank needs annually for its emergency food box program.
Beth Johnson, spokeswoman for KMT Creative, the local company marketing the show, said community groups in Savannah, Ga., and Hampton Roads, Va., set similar goals for their own food drives, and it has become a tradition with the show.
She encouraged people to bring canned or nonperishable goods to the rally or to the build site once crews begin work.
“We’re trying to stock their pantry,” she said.
The build site will not be announced until show host Ty Pennington knocks on the door of the family whose home will be demolished and rebuilt within a week.
The pep rally, which begins at 6:30 p.m., will feature bluegrass music, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga marching band and a presentation from Milan Vasic, a senior producer with “Extreme Makeover.”
So far, 3,800 general volunteers and 421 skilled volunteers have signed up to help on the build. With that kind of enthusiasm, Johnson said the rally could be packed.
“We don’t know what to expect,” she said.
Johnson said the number of volunteers could mean there are not enough jobs on site for everyone.
“The reality is we are not going to accommodate that many people on a construction site,” she said. “We are going to have to probably turn some people away, which breaks our hearts.”
She said staff members will begin calling volunteers Monday to confirm time slots and that some shifts – particularly overnight – still have openings.
Volunteers can sign up at www.extremevisionhomes.com.