Army of Volunteers to Build House, Renovate Detroit Neighborhood, Give Away the House to Deserving Family—in 6 Days

Detroit, MI, July 13, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Over 5,000 volunteers are expected to come together later this month to transform a Detroit neighborhood, building a brand new house, renovating 24 others, boarding up at least 150 vacant structures, and “beautifying” 48 city blocks…all in six days!

It’s the biggest and most ambitious project yet for Life Remodeled, a local non-profit that will give away the new house to a single mother and her two sons at the conclusion of the week-long effort beginning July 29, 2013. Since 2011, Life Remodeled has built five brand new houses in the metro Detroit area, each in six days, and given them away to deserving families.

Recognizing the impact and value that Life Remodeled provides to families and the communities it serves, this year, Quicken Loans has committed to support the project, joining building industry companies and previous Life Remodeled partners, Allied Building Products, Barton Malow and Carrier Air Conditioning. Also, Arise Detroit!, via a large General Motors volunteer workforce, has made this project the featured event for their "Neighborhoods Day" campaign, on Aug 3. In collaboration with a local church network called EACH, dozens of churches in the metro Detroit area also are joining with Life Remodeled for this project. A full list of high-impact partnerships can be found at www.LifeRemodeled.com/Partners.

To ensure success of the project, Life Remodeled is teaming with another non-profit, Central Detroit Christian (CDC), which has been working to stabilize and create positive opportunities in the neighborhood since 1994. “Our goal is simple: To remodel lives, one family and neighborhood at a time,” said Chris Lambert, founder of Life Remodeled.

Inspired by the TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” Life Remodeled takes the concept even further with a more comprehensive approach—providing the families they serve not only with a new house, but with essential life skills for a period of three years after the build. Those include services such as professional family counseling and financial training, as well as spiritual and personal support. Life Remodeled also helps integrate the family into their new community.

“We beautify the surrounding neighborhood by removing blight, painting, cutting lawns, and we even provide emergency repairs for nearby homeowners,” said Lambert. “So, when the Life Remodeled team of volunteers completes the project, the entire neighborhood has been given a fresh start!”

This summer’s project, from July 29 - August 4, 2013, will be the only project Life Remodeled will undertake this year, and is expected to be the largest volunteer effort of its kind in recent city history. It will culminate with a reveal of the house, located at 700 W. Philadelphia, to the family on the seventh day, August 4 at 2:30 pm, which will include a huge celebration of all involved with the project—the family, neighbors, and all of the volunteers. The surrounding neighborhood targeted for renovation includes most of the residential city blocks on either side of Woodward bounded by Clairmount and Owen Streets on the north, Oakland St. on the east, Grand Boulevard on the south, and the Lodge Freeway on the west. (A map is available at LifeRemodeled.com/the-plan). Opportunities for interviews, b-roll/video and photos will be available throughout the week.

Life Remodeled is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a passion for “Remodeling Lives…One Family and Neighborhood at a Time!” To find out more, please visit www.LifeRemodeled.com.

Media Contacts:

- Mark Besh,
248-548-7000 MarkBesh@liferemodeled.com

- Brian Lucas
734-776-6688
Brian@liferemodeled.com