Greenwich, CT -
When the producers of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" needed reliable equipment tough enough to help build a house in seven days, United Rentals was there to help. The world's largest equipment rental company and the crew of the popular television show joined forces with hundreds of volunteers in November to build a new home for the Hughes family of Louisville, Kentucky.
The United Rentals branch in Louisville arranged the donation of more than 50 pieces of equipment for the duration of the job, including aerial lifts, light towers and portable power generators. It was the eleventh time the company had provided support to the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" team in 2007, following successful projects in Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming.
Diane Korman, senior producer for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition", said, "We are very excited United Rentals is working with us. Because of United Rentals' vast reach across North America, we rely on them for the Extreme equipment and round-the-clock service we expect and need to get the job done - regardless of the conditions or location."
Jason Habermel, branch manager for United Rentals in Louisville, said, "This was a total community effort on behalf of the Hughes family, and we were thrilled to be a part of it. We wanted to support the crew in every way possible: deliver equipment day or night, coordinate services with neighboring branches, and volunteer our time to assist on site. It's truly exciting and an honor to help build a beautiful home from the ground up in just a week!" The company expects to partner on several more projects before year's end.
The Hughes family was struggling to provide for their disabled teenage son when they were surprised with a new house specially designed to accommodate 19-year-old Patrick Henry, who was born blind and with severely impaired arms and legs. Faced with mounting bills for Patrick Henry's home care, the Hughes family faced nearly insurmountable difficulties until ABC stepped in to help.
The challenges of constructing the Hughes' home for their special needs are chronicled in the episode that will be aired in January. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is broadcast on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
About United Rentals
United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) is the largest equipment rental company in the world, with an integrated network of over 690 rental locations in 48 states, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The company serves construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and others. The company offers for rent over 20,000 classes of rental equipment with a total original cost of $4.0 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 Index and the Russell 2000 Index® and is headquartered in Greenwich, Conn. Additional information about United Rentals is available at www.unitedrentals.com.
About ABC-TVs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," which has won back-to-back Emmy Awards as Best Reality Program (non-competitive), is in its 5th season on ABC. The program is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. Denise Cramsey is the executive producer; and David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA.
Contact:
Katie Gonzalez
[email protected]
203-618-7351