Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Goes Green in St. Louis

By Angela Ricketts, owner of Go Green Clean

In late 2008 Go Green Clean partnered with ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition", to help one deserving family get the home of their dreams. On top of donating 2 days and nearly 100 man hours to the project, we were one small part in having the home built and certified green under the Green Building Initiative (GBI). The home achieved a Silver Certification in conjunction with the HBA of St. Louis.

This was a very rewarding experience for all of our team members and we were literally the last ones in the house putting on the final touches, before the final reveal.

The Shrewsbury episode focused on the Martinez family. Dawn and Emmanuel Martirez have three children: the oldest daughter Elle and twins Evan and Alex. Dawn's experience as a pediatric cancer nurse prepared her for the challenges of her own situation; both Evan and Alex have extremely rare genetic conditions. As the twins got older, the family's Shrewsbury home and its cramped space, narrow hallways, steep stairs and single bathroom that is not ADA compliant was becoming problematic for the twins' development. The very home they shared with their family, became part of the everyday challenge for their twin boys.

While the Martirez family vacationed at Disney World, the show completely tore down the existing home (7329 Brunswick, Shrewsbury) and rebuilt a home that fulfills all of the Martirez family's current and future needs.

It was truly a blessing to be a part of this process, and was amazing to see the final result.

The episode aired in November 2008. You can also search ABC.com to see the archived episode. You can see some of our team members at work.