Three children of a Lexington, N.C. family who will be featured on an upcoming episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (EMHE) have a chance to go to college thanks to Catawba College. Catawba will provide the children of William and Tricia Creasey, twins Makenzie and Makayla, age five, and older sister Brittany, age 12, with two years each of full tuition scholarships to attend the College.
Catawba College President Dr. Craig Turner and wife Annette made the presentation to the family during a press conference held Nov. 18 in front of the family's new home. The elated and grateful parents simply said, "Thank you."
"Education is what Catawba College is about and we are happy to be able to provide this donation to the family," Turner said. "When a family is facing crisis like this one is, you want to be able to offer them assurance that some of their hopes and dreams will be realized."
Catawba's gift is made in conjunction with education partner Davidson County Community College in Lexington which will also provide two years of full tuition to each of the three children. The combined gifts from the two institutions will assure that all three children have four years of college education.
The Creasey family was selected from among five finalist Triad area families for the home makeover project. Tricia Creasey, a seventh grade teacher at Brown Middle School in Thomasville, N.C., is in the fourth stage of colorectal cancer. She continues to teach as she undergoes treatment.
The Creaseys left their home on Nov. 11 for a trip to Disney World and returned to their new home on Nov. 17. A crowd of several thousand volunteers and onlookers were gathered for their arrival. As is the tradition in the EMHE series, a bus was moved to reveal the new home to Creaseys in front of those spectators who included folk singer Jewel and her husband, Ty Murray, a cowboy star who has also appeared on "Dancing with the Stars."
Alan Styers of Lexington, a volunteer on the home makeover project for the Creaseys, said he and his fellow volunteers had three goals when they joined the effort. "We wanted to get the family in a home, get college paid for for the three girls, and get the mortgage paid so the parents can focus on just being parents without worries." At the Nov. 18 press conference, those attending learned that two of the three goals and most of the third had been met.
The Creaseys home makeover is the 165th such project taken on by EMHE. The episode featuring the Creasey family's home makeover is expected to air in February of 2010. The Creaseys, as well as the donors involved in their home makeover, are restricted from sharing details about the project until the episode airs.
The Emmy award-winning reality program "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," in its seventh season, is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It is executive-produced by Anthony Dominici. David Goldberg is Chairman, Endemol North America. The show airs Sundays from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET on ABC.
RELATED CONTENT:
'I'm Just an Everyday Person' Says Extreme Makeover Mom (SalisburyPost.com)
Creasey Family Receives More Gifts and Donations (The-Dispatch.com)
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