WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsExtreme Makeover reveals new home to Loris family

Extreme Makeover reveals new home to Loris family

LORIS, SC (WMBF) - It was a welcome home celebration of a lifetime for one Horry County family Monday, whose home was destroyed and rebuilt in just over 100 hours by the crew of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

The Suggs family of Loris returned from their week-long vacation to Disney World to a massive crowd screaming 'Move that bus!' just moments before their new home was revealed. At the latest count, more than 2,000 volunteers have donated their time and effort since Jan. 11 to complete the new home located in the Allsbrook Community of Horry County.

The show's cast and crew, including host Ty Pennington, traveled to Loris last Monday to announce the Suggs family would be on the receiving end of the week-long home rebuild. Also in on the surprise was four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Jeff Gordon.

Derrick, 28, and Amanda, 26, have two children - Walker, 5, and Mason, 9 months - and adopted Amanda's three younger siblings - James, 19, Jacob, 17, and Jordan, 10 - to prevent them from being separated in foster care.

When Derrick and Amanda got married, they moved into the home Derrick inherited from his grandfather. Built by his grandfather in 1953, the home came with a long list of repairs required to make it livable: a leaking roof, outdated and exposed electrical wiring, rotting foundation, and broken and cracked asbestos siding on the outside of the house.

"It was exciting," said Derrick, "but it's just surprising. You never think that something like this is [going to] happen. It is a blessing. It's still hard to believe; it's hard to take in that it's going on right now."

Extreme Makeover plans to build a safer, stronger home in seven days with team leader Ty Pennington, the design team, and the entire community.

According to a press release, Amanda was forced to take on the role of a mother figure for her siblings at a young age. Her parents' physical neglect often left the children alone for weeks at a time.

In addition, Amanda's father was constantly moving the family around the country in search of construction work, pulling the children in-and-out of school so frequently they would often not even enroll.

Between missing school and caring for her siblings, Amanda fell so far behind that she dropped out of school after the seventh grade. At 16, Amanda reached out to her aunt for help and she agreed to take care of Amanda and the two oldest boys. Living with her aunt helped Amanda get her life back on track and within three months, she received her GED and began community college classes.

When she turned 18, Amanda moved to Myrtle Beach to continue her college education and met Derrick, fell in love, were married, and soon welcomed their first born, Walker. Shortly thereafter, Amanda's brother Jacob informed her that he and his younger brothers were being taken away from their parents and placed in foster care. Derrick and Amanda brought the boys to live with them.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition took its third go with the Horry County-based construction group Sterling Homes to make the Suggs' dream home a reality. According to Conrad Ricketts, executive producer for the show, the choice of teaming up with Sterling Homes was easy.

"We look for builders who are leaders in their community and understand how important it is to give back," Ricketts said. "Sterling Homes has waived their fees, are working for free and will gather hundreds of trade partners, subs and volunteers to come together to build a house in one week. It is nothing short of a miracle. This is the third time Sterling has answered the call and only the second time in our seven seasons we've returned to the same area. It's a tribute to the community and builder."

In addition to the build, Sterling Homes has partnered with the United Way for an "Extreme Food Drive" in an effort to replenish area food banks. The company has set a staggering goal of 100 tons of food to address the needs of the hungry along the coast.

All spectators are encouraged to bring canned food to be left with each site visit on behalf of the Extreme Food Drive.