Project Hero makes the Atlanta Journal Constitution

Communities of Faith: Home makeover with heart
Embassy Metro members aid woman

By Candice Hannigan
For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/10/07

There were no network camera crews filming the extreme home makeover near downtown Woodstock last weekend. Buses weren't needed to bring in throngs of volunteers for the job.

Yet members of the Embassy Metro Church hope the work they did on the home will change the life of the woman who lives there.

"This is going to make a big difference in her life. I know she appreciates what this church and these people did to help her get her house and her yard in order," said Sara Blalock, a friend of the woman, who asked not to be identified.

Blalock said the woman is 66 years old and single, with no family nearby to help her. She faces multiple health challenges, including diabetes, and lives on a small monthly income.

About 40 volunteers spent the weekend painting inside and outside her home, installing new flooring, landscaping, repairing appliances, lights and cleaning from floor to ceiling.

Some church members are taking her to lunch, and out for a new hairstyle and a manicure. Her two dogs are even being sent for grooming. And for the next month, church members will keep the woman's refrigerator and freezer stocked with healthy meals suited for a diabetic's needs.

This home improvement project wraps up a Hero series that pastor Ross Wiseman started on Easter Sunday.

Services have featured public safety workers and other "real-life heroes," as well as challenges from Wiseman to "position ourselves and stand for something that's worth standing for. Our families, our integrity, the lives of those who are lost in our communities, those things that are right and good. We need to be heroes in our communities, and you can't be a hero if you don't take a stand."

Members also raised $1,000 for a firefighter whose son has been undergoing treatment for a brain tumor.

"There's something powerful when people unite together to do something that's bigger than they can do on their own," said Wiseman. "We want to go into the community and let people know they're valuable to God, whether or not they've stepped into the four walls of our church. We want to be a body that's focused more outward than inward."

Embassy Metro Church: Sunday services begin at 10:02 a.m. at Cherokee 16 Cinemas off Towne Lake Parkway in Woodstock. Contact: 678-384-4919 or www.embassymetro.org.