Nancy Banker and Buffalo's Extreme Home Makeover

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" debuted on ABC as a thirteen-episode experiment Nov. 3, 2003. Prior to its official move to the network's Sunday nights, the series originally aired on Monday’s primetime. No doubt it was on a fateful weeknight that Nancy Banker first caught a glimpse of one of those blue shirts.

“I’m gonna be one of those blue shirts one day,” she said, in recalling her awe-inspired endeavor.

Little did she know that the blue shirt of repute would be a garment earned not only through good volunteering, but with a bit of staging as well. It reportedly took hours for the thousands of volunteers to properly pull their blue shirts down over their heads.

On Sunday, Jan. 24, AU’s own Nancy Banker saw a seven-year quest come to fruition. Months ago on one fortuitous work day, the CSI secretary was watching WKBW, the Buffalo news network, when she was elated to find that "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" would be venturing to Buffalo, New York.

A number of web searches and filed forms later, the excited secretary and her daughter were led to Buffalo’s west side Massachusetts Avenue, and November’s makeover week.

Levels of participation were varied throughout the makeover week in New York’s City of Good Neighbors. Jobs were fulfilled from fixing roofs to filling garbage bags, and no step was missed in between.

During makeover week, the pair did not know much about the family and adjacent community they were serving. Upon the show's broadcast last Sunday night, Banker was proud to find the extremely deserving recipients.

When asked if she would recommend the experience to others, she replied enthusiastically, “Yes, it made me feel like I was somebody- it made me feel so good. I guess that’s what volunteering is supposed to be."

True to her word, Nancy Banker is presently looking forward to her next chance to volunteer and make a difference. If only circumstance allowed, she would be volunteering in Haiti. As her situation stands, Alfred University and the CSI office are happy to have her, waiting for her next opportunity to contribute.