Last night at IPS James Russell Lowell #51, almost 100 very excited IPS students received new Net Book laptop computers from Dell with big smiles on their faces!

After an important lesson on internet safety, students and parents broke into small groups with IPS teachers. The teachers provided instruction on usage and maintenance, the Martin University help desk introduction, ideas for online educational resources from IPS and coaching on utilizing the free wireless internet provided by the Indy FAN. The laptops are complete with programs helpful to students in all grades and will provide great opportunity for education outside the four walls of the school.

The IPS students received DELL laptops in conjunction with the neighborhood technology initiative introduced by Paul Estridge, Jr. during the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project. Dell Computers donated a total of 105 Mini 9 laptops (or “Net Books”), gifting a computer to every IPS student in the 450 home area of the Indy FAN, a donation of over $45,000.

View WRTV News footage from the event.
View photos from the event.
View all photos from Extreme Makeover in Indianapolis.

Today, Estridge hosted the incredible partners who assisted with building a new home for the McFarland family, a center for Pack House 2000 and make an incredible impact in the Martindale-Brightwood community to the Centennial Bible Church for an Extreme Closing Celebration.

The setting was fitting, as the Bible Church hosted partners and volunteers for a Pep Rally on March 16th as we came together to hear Conrad Ricketts, Executive Producer of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition thank everyone for all of the hard work and heart that they were going to contribute in the next month.

This afternoon, in the same location, we celebrated all that was accomplished.

Bernard McFarland led all in a prayer of thanks for those that gave of their time and talents and for God for bringing everyone together. McFarland expressed his sincere appreciation for his new home and for lighting a fire under his community to continue the neighborhood transformation.

The event concluded with the airing of the Behind the Scenes video, created with construction footage from the week, as well as many different neighbors and partners sharing their experience and their thanks for all that was being accomplished. It was a celebration of hard work and heart and a wonderful way to excite all for the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 2-hour season finale in Indianapolis this evening on ABC.

We continue to be amazed by the ongoing support of our partners and the Indianapolis community, as well as the willingness of the community to volunteer and be a part of the project. Working with our incredible partners and volunteers, the experience was life-changing for the Estridge team. The testimonials from volunteers and partners we’ve received have reinforced the spirit of the week, as well the lasting impression building together made on everyone.

Thanks for doing an incredible job rallying people together! It was a great time!

This was one of the topics around the dinner table at Mom’s this Easter - how businesses are getting together with communities to accomplish some truly amazing things. I hope my business will be like Estridge (in this way) when it grows up!

Tune in to the Indianapolis Extreme Makeover: Home Edition season finale on Sunday May 17th, 7pm to 9pm. Watch as Estridge leads the Indianapolis community in building a new home for the McFarland family and beginning neighborhood transformation in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood. Meet the McFarland family, learn more about their trip to Paris and see the finished home - inside and out.

Last week Extreme Makeover: Home Edition shined a spotlight on the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood and created a platform for continued change. Working with the neighborhood’s leadership and efforts, this change will continue to make this neighborhood great again.

The Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) has created the Extreme Makeover Charitable Fund to fund long term change through much needed social services and physical improvements. Contributions will be invested in literacy initiatives, school readiness programs, workforce development, and healthcare, as well as physical improvements such as home renovation, landscaping, or building updates for the local community center. Donate today.

The Estridge Companies would like to thank all of our partners, sponsors and volunteers who participated in the unique Indianapolis Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project.

All of the materials and labor were donated to build two extraordinary buildings – a home and a library, as well as plant 1200 trees, re-roof 2 homes, repair 22 homes, redress 5 miles of alleys, repair siding on 1 Church, build 1 wheelchair ramp, procure 1 school to serve as a community center, build free wireless internet access for 450 homes, and donate 100 computers for use in the neighborhood.

The extraordinary efforts and generosity of almost 200 companies and over 5,000 volunteers helped to do the unthinkable - build a home and a library in less than a week - and be a catalyst for future neighborhood transformation. We are extremely appreciative and overwhelmed by our community’s and partner’s efforts and are grateful at what we created when we built together.

View a thank you message from Paul Estridge.

Saturday, April 4, 2009 was an exciting day for the McFarland Family, the Indianapolis community and The Estridge Companies. After much hard work with 24/7 construction for just under a week, the home and library were presented to the McFarland family!

Thousands of members of the Indianapolis community were onsite to loudly cheer, “Move That Bus” with Ty Pennington and his designers, holding home-made signs showing their support and appreciation for the McFarland family. If Bernard was excited upon hearing that Sears paid his previous mortgage, actually viewing his family’s new home for the first timewas overwhelming!

When the bus moved to reveal the new home and library, there was great energy and excitement. Bernard’s excitement got the best of him and he took off running up and down the street, hugging and high fiving family, friends, neighbors and strangers. Tears of joy were all around as Bernard lifted Paul Estridge off of the ground and swung him around in excitement. Everyone knew that the planning and hard work had paid off and the McFarlands were home.

The excitement of the week continues to build, as we near the hour we hand over the keys to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Thursday, the construction site began to look more like a new home for the McFarland family and Pack House 2000. With the completion of the building exteriors, the large equipment and most building supplies were moved elsewhere to make room for the landscaping to begin. Walkways were created, pavers were laid, the basketball court was completed – and that was only the exterior work! Inside the home, everything from fixtures and finishes to touch and cleaning were completing. At the end of the day, the hard work of Estridge and the thousands of volunteers led us to be almost 90% complete with the home and well on our way to handing the keys to Extreme Makeover.

Estridge, our partners, volunteers and the entire community are eagerly awaiting Saturday when the McFarland family arrives home to Oxford Street and sees their new home and Pack House 2000 library, as well as the incredible changes in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood.

Thursday, Indianapolis learned that IPS School #37 is being gifted to the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood association to serve as a community center for the neighborhood. Much physical change began in the neighborhood this week – redressing of alleys, manicuring of streets and lawns, repainting of homes, demolition of an abandoned home, planting of 1200 trees and more. However, neighborhood transformation extends much further than the physical piece. Transformation needs to be personal as well. Having a place for the neighborhood to call home, gather and transform is equally as important – historical School #37 will serve as the neighborhood home for Martindale-Brightwood.

In addition, there has been an outpouring of support from people, organizations and corporations that want to support the neighborhood and various initiatives. Marian College will be providing tutoring and literacy training at the local elementary school in Martindale-Brightwood (IPS School #51) and also at the new community center. Additionally, Marian College is working on creating a scholarship program to benefit the community. Many other organizations are excited about the possibility of serving the neighborhood as well.

The public-private partnerships in our city are truly amazing and have been greatly magnified throughout this project. The new community center would not be a reality without the efforts of IPS, Juvenile Court, Central Indiana Community Foundation, Making Connections, Martindale-Brightwood Community Development Corporation, and many others.

To allow Bernard to continue putting his energy and dedication into his work, the goal at Estridge is to raise money to assist in paying his previous mortgage. We hope that by providing a new beginning with the new home, Bernard will be able to extend his vision even further and touch more lives.

On Wednesday evening, hundreds of members of the Indianapolis community joined Ty, Michael, Paul and Paige at Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse to shoot a hello video for the McFarland family, as well as hold an auction to raise money to complete our goal. As we heard from some of the teenagers that Bernard mentors, Bernard’s incredible work and our goal were reinforced to all of us. Items such as a round of golf at Wood Wind Golf Club with Paul were auctioned, autographed photos, autographed colts items, golf items and much more raised thousands of dollars for the McFarland mortgage.

Help Bernard extend his mission even further. Donate $10 to the mortgage fund today. Or visit any M & I Bank location to donate today.

Wednesday was a day of visible progress! Incredible progress happened on the home, homesite and still throughout the neighborhood! The roof, brick, chimney, stonework and exterior trim on the home and library are all complete – creating a beautiful visual of what happens when we come together. At different times throughout the day at least 50 people in the blue volunteer shirts were working all over the home. All from different partners, working together to ensure that the McFarland family home is built to the Estridge quality standards and is completed on time to hand the keys to the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition design team on Friday afternoon.

Progress was everywhere on Wednesday - inside the home, outside the home and throughout the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood. Inside the home, volunteers installed dry wall, painted and primed. Outside the home, concrete was laid for the patio and walkways and the half-court basketball court was completed. While work continued at the McFarland site, hundreds of volunteers were working throughout the neighborhood again – planting more trees, landscaping the yards of the homes on Oxford Street, redressing the alleys, painting homes down the street, and finally – doing repairs on the Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church that welcomed us with open arms on Sunday.

One of the most poignant items completed today was the installation of the Pack House 2000 logo at the entrance of the library. Bernard’s vision of a center for neighborhood children to dream, grow and learn now has a home. He has touched the lives of so many children in his neighborhood and has been an inspiration to all. The Pack House 2000 library will give his vision a roots to grow taller and spread his mission further.