Levels of Discovery owner helps "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
By Lisa Casinger -- Kids Today, 9/1/2006
When ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" was looking for vendors to help supply products for the Arena family of Somers, N.Y. they called Levels of Discovery. Owner Jeff Hutsell not only donated product he also flew to New York to help rebuild the family's home and put the room together.
"The visit I made to upstate New York to help the Arena family was one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life," Hutsell said. "We were asked to donate some of our firefighter's furniture for the two little girls' room (Who says only boys like fire engines!). I said I would be delighted but asked if I could work on the project, too."
Hutsell spent three days and nights working with more than 400 volunteers to remove one home and build, furnish and decorate a new one in seven to eight days.
"The entire process is real," he said. "They really do all of the work and I was happy to see that (show host) Ty (Pennington) and all of the other on-air talent pitched in. It was truly a work from the heart for all concerned. Nothing will ever compare to the look on the family's faces when they saw their new home."
The Arena family has six daughters and lost their only son to an inoperable brain tumor last year shortly after his 6th birthday. Parents Jim and Gina had spent what little money they had saved over the years on their son Jimboy's treatments, and their small, one-bathroom home needed lots of work. That's when the TV show stepped in.
Two of the younger daughters wanted a firefighter/Dalmatian bedroom theme, since their dad was a fireman, and Levels of Discovery's firefighter collection seemed like a perfect choice for the room.
The Arena family's episode aired on ABC in May.
The Firefighter collection includes a toy box bench, revolving bookcase, table/stool set, clothes stand/growth chart rocker and a hanging rack.
