On the Season 7 finale of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, the Extreme Team traveled to Texas to help out the Carr family who adopted four handicapped children from Kazakhstan, including a 6-year-old amputee with prosthetic legs. ABC’s long-running reality construction show is known for ratcheting up the drama. So when Season 8 premiers in Berks County on September 26, you had better bring the Kleenex.
But from the introductions to the pivotal “move that bus!” moment, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition helps more than just desperate families. Keeping the small town, family-friendly feel in tact, Extreme Team construction sites are community projects, allowing local merchants a chance to help out a great cause and gain some national air time. When the show hits the Reading region this fall, two environmental salvage firms will strut their stuff. Empire Group and Elk Environmental Services worked with the Home Builders Association of Berks County on the Berks Extreme Build project. Elk Environmental removed oil tanks from the basement, while Empire Group–Elk’s parent company–managed the demolition, while salvaging usable debris for reuse.
“We took all the oil tanks out and checked for other hazardous materials to make sure there wouldn’t be any contamination when we tore the house down,” says Vice President Tom Peduto. “We get involved in a lot of community activities and our people like it and really show up. A lot of our people volunteered their time and helped out beyond what you will see on TV.”
Supporting Elk Environmental and Berks Transfer, Empire Group has been around since 1955. Employing over 200 Berks County residents, Empire Group has become something of a household name in the region, participating in various holiday parades and community events. In fact, when the show contacted Empire and Elk to manage the salvage, it became clear that producers had simply asked around the neighborhood. Pairing such a strong community presence with families in need and people willing to help, and this season premier is sure to live up to Extreme Makeover’s tearjerker legacy.
“We have been around since 1955 and we have a strong presence in the area,” says Peduto. “We just showed up on the radar once they showed up here and started talking to people. We have been around forever and everybody knows us. This was a way for the whole community to give back and everyone was excited to be a part of it.”
Source: Tom Peduto, Elk Environmental
Writer: John Steele