REDWOOD FALLS - A&W Furniture in Redwood Falls participated in ABC TV's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project in Hayward, Minn., near Albert Lea.
The store was contactedWednesday, Oct. 1, by the show's senior design producer requesting the store's participation in an upcoming episode of the show.
The commitment requested of A&W Furniture was to donate furniture and accessories for a deserving family. The store agreed, and the process was off and rolling!
Within two hours, three behind-the-scenes designers were at the store in Redwood Falls carefully choosing their finds to use in the home. The completely filled A&W Furniture truck and carloads of A&W Furniture staff made their way to the building site several days later for the move-in, decorating and photo shoots.
A&W Furniture staff worked side by side the TV designers until 2:30 a.m. placing furniture, accessories and assisting with move in to ensure the home would be ready in time for the next day's filming.
Crowds of people were on the home site watching the process for days and despite heavy rain the day of the reveal a huge group of supporters, friends and fans of the show were there when the family arrived in a limousine. With much anticipation and excitement 100's of people yelled, "Move that bus!" The overwhelmed family cried, screamed and leaned on one another for support when their beautiful new home appeared behind the enormous bus.
Minimal information has been given about the deserving family from Hayward. However, it is known that the DeVries family of 5 includes a mother with a heart condition, a father who was left with only one arm after an accident and three children ages 17, 15 and 12.
"What an honor to be a part of this amazing show! The entire process far exceeded our expectations. The staff of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was grateful, kind and welcoming to all of our staff, and the hardworking family seems so worthy" said Mary Ahrens Wetmore of A&W Furniture.
The episode is expected to air sometime in December on ABC. A&W Furniture will post updates on their website for official air time and date.
