Ty Pennington finished the Indianapolis Extreme Makeover last weekend and the show will air in May. While it is amazing to watch the show and see how much they do for families in need, it has been amazing to watching “behind the scenes’ and witness how much the presence of celebrity and bring to a worthwhile project. After being selected for the home, the McFarland family was wisked off to Paris so that crews could have seven days to build. (How did they get the passports so quickly?)  Not only were volunteers mobilized, but so were community resources. New trees and flowers were planted along the street (which was re-paved) and in front of the nearby library, a vacated school was transformed to a community center, WIFI access was installed for the neighborhood and the street was renamed to McFarland Avenue.  A visual update is available.  It was inspiring to not only see the community’s willingness to give, but to observe the change in attitude the residents had toward their own neighborhood.

Why is this on a librarian’s blog?  Easy!  Because Mr. McFarland works in my school district. Because he volunteers to work with children who happen to attend this school district to provide them a community center and to take them to museums, libraries and other places to share his love of reading. Because Mr. McFarland was inspired by a librarian and because he is currently studying to become a librarian. Most important, because this is an extreme story of the power of reading.