When the e-mail went out calling for volunteers to build a home for a family in need at the law offices of Potomac-based Shulman Rogers, the conference room was overflowing with eager builders. Working with the United Way, the lawyers of Shulman Rogers built a brand new house for the Tripp Family of Hyattsville. Their efforts will be featured on an upcoming episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."
They hammered and painted on the 9 p.m.-3 a.m. shift for several days to complete the home. Many wondered how they would stay awake, but it turned out to be an energizing experience. According to founding partner Don Rogers, "It was hard to be tired. We built a spectacular home in seven days. The feedback from the employees was fantastic. It was a very worthwhile experience."
As for the lawyer jokes he added, "Everyone has this stuffy, mean-spirited, selfish and uncaring image of lawyers. It is not true. We run, bike, walk swim, read, teach and now build for charity. As lawyers we see a lot of bad things. There is pressure in the practice and volunteering is a real relief and a sense of doing good, not just pushing papers."
The Tripp Family, Nikema aka "Tripp" and Tamara Tripp and their young sons Micah, 5, Ethan, 3, and Aaden, 9 months went to Disneyland while the Extreme Makeover team transformed their crumbling 900-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bathroom, house into a beautiful spacious home. The Tripp family was chosen to receive this home makeover because of their generosity in their community. About 40 children each week and over 90 children on holidays board their "Big Blue Bus" for fun and safe activities that have ranged from bowling on a Friday night to flower arranging for Mother’s Day. Since their church cannot afford to fund the activities, the Tripps cover the cost.
The idea for this project began with Shulman Rogers attorney Aaron Ghais, whose client is The United Way. He brought the idea to partner with them on the home makeover project to the firm. He was happy the the idea "was met with excitement and enthusiam. There was an overwhelming repsonse to help out from the management to all employees. It was energy times 10."
As a fan of the show, when the call went out for volunteers at Shulman Rogers, attorney Tina Hsu knew how moving the Extreme Makeover episodes are and she "wanted to pull together for a family in need."
Hsu enjoys making and building things with her hands. She helped build furniture for the children and painted inside the home late into the night before the big reveal the next morning.
"There was so much energy in the neighborhood. The street was lit up with the huge spotlights. My colleagues were already there wearing hardhats. It was a great and enjoyable thing to do together." After working all night Hsu went home for a few hours of sleep and came back to watch the big "Move that Bus!" chant that reveals the new home to the family.
She was part of the last crew at night and, in the morning, even had her 15 minutes of fame on camera with designer Ed Sanders. As for watching the family see their new home she said, "They were knocked over when they saw what had been built and started to cry. It made the long night well worth it to see that special moment."
Despite the late nights, all the employees showed up the next morning for work; gallons of coffee were consumed. The whole firm is looking forward to watching "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" as a group with buckets of popcorn.