Eastern NC family gets 'extreme' makeover

By: Brittani McNeill

Posted: 3/19/09

An Eastern North Carolina family was featured on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

The family of Jeff Cooper, a former Army combat medic, was chosen for this seasons "Heroes Helping Heroes" episode. The Cooper family (Jeff Cooper, his wife Clara, and children Aaron and Wendy) is from Jamesville, NC.

Cooper is a decorated Gulf War Veteran (Desert Shield/Desert Storm), who suffers from Gulf War Syndrome and multiple sclerosis, which confines him to a wheelchair.

Another member of the Cooper family, son Aaron, also faces physical challenges. Aaron was injured two years ago after being run over by a garbage truck. Although Jeff Cooper was able to use his medic skills to save his son's life, Aaron lost most of his right arm, and has been through several surgeries.

However, the family is still devoted to helping others. Jeff Cooper is a dedicated advocate for fellow veterans. He lobbied the NC General Assembly for a special license plate honoring Gulf War Veterans, and he is a member of the Governor's Advocacy Council for Persons with Disabilities, where he is a strong advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. Jeff's daughter, Wendy Cooper, has signed up for medical lab technician training with the Army National Guard.

On March 6, the family's double-wide trailer was torn down by a group of volunteers, led by Edenton Builders, Inc. The trailer had been decaying, and had many problems including bad wiring, a sinking roof and a rotting ramp-problems especially difficult for a family dealing with disabilities.

Many volunteers from the community surrounding Jamesville, including students from local colleges, helped to build the new home for the Cooper family. Volunteers worked 24 hours a day (in eight hour shifts) for a week, to make the family's dream come true, and many sponsors donated building materials and furnishings. The ECU Volunteer and Service Learning Center (VSLC) helped to recruit ECU students to assist with the project. According to Michael Loeffleman, volunteer coordinator for the VSLC, Edenton Builders contacted ECU about a month in advance to ask for the center's help with soliciting volunteers.

"Our role was to let the ECU community know it was happening and make sure that they knew the best modes of volunteering for the event," he said. "Because it was being handled by Edenton Builders we didn't want to speak for what they were doing. We just wanted to complement their initiative on the project."

Many ECU students spent spring break volunteering at the sight. Volunteers worked in the areas of food service, material management, safety, transportation, clean-up and site check in.

Many students from the construction management program volunteered their knowledge and skills for the project. Professor Bryan Wheeler, and instructor in the construction management department, said both the faculty and students "absolutely had an awesome experience."

"We had a project management team of about four to six people there working 12 hour shifts," he said. "We had representation on the sight 24 hours a day pretty much from Saturday, the 7th of March through Friday the 13th. Then we had probably 20-30 students come out and work in all facets of the construction."

The community response was so great that Edenton Builders stopped accepting applications for general volunteers, accepting only applications for skilled laborers such as electricians and framers. Wheeler said the construction management volunteers worked on many areas of the house including framing, foundation work, installation, electrical work, and landscaping.

"I told our students that there were three key things that we needed to carry with us through that week, and that was having a lot of flexibility, patience, and love, and a passion to serve our community and region and serve this family with our construction skills that we could offer."

The family spent a week in Washington, DC while the house was completed. The house was revealed Friday, March 13 in front of spectators. Peedee the Pirate and the ECU cheerleaders were on hand to keep the crowd energized.

"Really it was all about serving. I shared with our folks in construction management that with willing hearts we could get the job done, and we absolutely did finish the house," said Wheeler. "In four and a half days the structure was complete. The family was able to move in their house on Friday afternoon.

"The students were outstanding. I commend them on their efforts for sacrificing their spring break week. Some were out there almost every day. At this point I understand we logged somewhere between 700 and 1000 hours."

The VSLC's mission is to engage ECU students in effective volunteer and service learning activities. Students are encouraged to register with the VSLC before volunteering. Registered students are given access to a comprehensive list of service opportunities, and covered by the center's personal liability insurance.

"We try to promote both types of service in terms of group service and individual service," said Loeffleman. "We have our service learning guide that has all different types of non profits in the area that students can contact at anytime."

Last year more than 10,000 students registered with the center, turning in more than 132,000 hours of volunteer service. Students can find more information and register at www.ecu.edu/vslc.

The Cooper family episode will air on ABC Sunday, May 3rd at 8 pm eastern time. Updates or more information on the project can be found at www.extremeebheroes.com.

This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com.