New Season of ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ is Celebrity-packed with ‘Get on the Bus’ Campaign
Two-time Emmy Award-winning actress Patricia Heaton (ABC’s new series “The Middle”) and music group Five For Fighting will be the first stars for Season 7 to volunteer in the GET ON THE BUS campaign on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” The new season begins with a two-part episode, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 (7:00-8:00 & 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.
Capturing the momentum of the Obama administration’s focus on volunteerism, “EM:HE” will show that community service is cool again with the new GET ON THE BUS campaign. For the first time ever for the series, “EM:HE” will have famous celebrities and extraordinary volunteers GET ON THE BUS for the weeks of house-building during the season. So far the other celebrities volunteering include Tyler Perry, David Duchovny, Mary J. Blige, Clint Black, Xzibit, Trace Adkins, Ashley Tisdale and Kellie Pickler.
When the new season begins, these special guests will contribute far more than special appearances – they’ll be part of the design team. In each episode, the iconic “EM:HE” bus will pick up a new volunteer to join the team and help during the build, providing a rare chance to visit America’s heartland and connect with real people who need help. Celebrity volunteers will pull up their sleeves, create a design project and put their personal stamp on the home. They will get to know the family’s circumstances and needs one on one. In between pouring foundations and framing walls, some of the celebrity volunteers will jump right into the center of the town — connecting with the locals, hanging out with the design team, spearheading a community project and bringing their unique personality and talents to the project. It’s not all hard labor and sweat — every episode has plenty of room for good times with good people. Getting on the bus will allow America to get to know the celebrity volunteers in an entirely new way — as a real person who wants to make a real difference.
Categories: Television Tags: ABC, Ashley Tisdale, Clint Black, David Duchovny, EMHE, Extreme, Extreme Makeover, Five for Fighting, Kellie Pickler, Mary J. Blige, Patricia Heaton, Trace Adkins, Tyler Perry, Xzibit
Tyler Perry Joins Mickey Mouse and Friends at DisneyQuest in Welcoming Creative Steps Children from Philly
Tyler Perry poses with Disney characters and more than 70 campers from Creative Steps in Philadelphia July 31, 2009 at DisneyQuest, an indoor, interactive theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Earlier this month, the campers were the subject of a story that they were turned away from a local Philadelphia pool. Perry sent each child who was turned away, along with a legal guardian, to Walt Disney World to enjoy the theme parks and other recreational activities at the resort. Perry said he wanted to do something kind for the children to let them know that for every person out there who treated them poorly, there was someone else waiting with an act of kindness. During a surprise appearance July 31 at DisneyQuest, Perry addressed the children and spoke of racism and challenged each child to live their life to the betterment of the community. (Quantrell D. Colbert, photographer)
Categories: Downtown Disney, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World Tags: Celebrities, Creative Steps, DTD, Philadelphia, Tyler Perry, West Side
Madea Sends Kids to Walt Disney World After Being Subjected to Racism at Pool
Tyler Perry, the creator of the popular Medea character and multiple sit-coms has a lot of televisions. And it’s because of one television, not in-particular, that Perry overheard a small boy crying on the news because he was kicked out of a swimming pool because of the color of his skin.
According to the posting on his website, the private club’s pool had apparently been rented out for use by an organization called Creative Steps, founded by Althea Wright to benefit inner-city children who are primarily black and Hispanic. According to Perry, the President of the club initially responded by returning the money back to the organization saying, ‘We don’t want to change the complexion of our club.’
Along with some other disturbing details which Perry further outlines, he announced that he is sending all 65 of the affected children to Walt Disney World August 1-3 to prove that for every negative thing one person does, there are countless more who will do something positive. On this note, Perry also asks that anyone who sees the children, either in the airport or at the parks, to please offer them encouragement.
You can see Perry’s full message here (dated July 19).
Categories: Theme Parks, Walt Disney World Tags: Tyler Perry

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