Students and Raleigh citizens will have the opportunity to chant “move that bus!” next week as TV host Ty Pennington and the Extreme Home Makeover design team come to the area to remodel a local home.
The Riggins family will receive a new home at its current location, at the corner of Blount and Poplar streets in the Halifax Court District, according to Mike Giancola, director of the Center for Student Leaders, Ethics and Public Service.
Giancola has been working with HomeLife Communities, the Morrisville, N.C., based contractor for the project, to coordinate student volunteers.
“They’ve asked us to cover the midnight to 6 a.m. shift on this Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday nights,” he said.
Giancola said the news of the show’s appearance in Raleigh could not be released until Thursday afternoon.
He said the project organizers required secrecy while organizing volunteers.
Giancola said he recruited the Student Leadership Consultants first.
“We brainstormed who would be a group of students who would be willing to volunteer and would be able to keep a secret,” he said.
He then asked representatives from Alternative Spring Break, fraternities, sororities and Student Government members to volunteer.
Deepti Vanguri, a senior in the College of Management, said she is also involved in the planning stages of the project.
“I am coordinating the volunteer efforts on the part of N.C. State along with Mike Giancola and CSLEPS,” she said.
Vanguri noted the appropriateness of students volunteering during night shifts.
“Who better to do it than college students?” she asked. “We are nocturnal.” Vanguri said she will be volunteering at the house.
“I’m going to try and be there as much as possible … I definitely want to go over there and fill in as much as I can,” she said.
The University will contribute to the project in more ways than construction, according to Vanguri.
“We are trying to involve athletics. The family’s son is a huge N.C. State fan – we are trying to make that pretty big,” she said.
According to Giancola, the Riggins have three children – 3- and 4-year-old daughters and a 6-year-old son.
“We are working on getting basketball tickets for the family, and we have put in a request for a baseball, basketball and soccer ball signed by the coaches and players,” he said.
NCSU Bookstores is also contributing multiple items to the Riggins family, Giancola added.
“The bookstore has donated an amazing amount of stuff that may or may not end up in the room but will definitely be given to the family,” he said.
Amanda Mcghee, a senior in communication and director of community service for Student Government, said she will work with three organizations on the home.
“I’ve been coordinating with Student Government,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of people sign up from executive and legislative branches.”
Mcghee is also a member of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and Delta Zeta sorority, both of which are participating in the makeover.
“It’s always a great show to watch and it always gets emotional towards the end,” she said. “It’s going to be interesting to actually see it happen and see the reveal.”
The reveal will be next Thursday, according to Giancola.
“The next two days [after the reveal] will be spent on cleanup,” he said. “They’ve asked us to give volunteers there as well.”
Giancola said a total of between 350 and 400 students will participate in the home makeover.