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For at-risk youth · Extreme Makeover: Home Edition · Baltimore, MD

Boys Hope Girls Hope

An entire home, built in nine days. HBCF and roughly a thousand volunteers built an 11,120-square-foot house for academically gifted, at-risk students, featured on the season premiere of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

11,120
Square feet built
9
Days to build
9 / 5
Bedrooms / bathrooms
~1,000
HBA member volunteers

About the project

A home for hope, on national TV

In July 2010, HBCF built an 11,120-square-foot, 2.5-story house in Northeast Baltimore for Boys Hope Girls Hope, a nonprofit that provides group-home care for academically gifted but at-risk students. The finished home welcomed seven girls and two live-in staff members.

The build was captured for the season premiere of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which aired September 26, 2010, putting the generosity of Maryland's building industry in front of a national audience.

LocationNE Baltimore, MD
ServesGifted at-risk students
PartnerBoys Hope Girls Hope
BuiltJuly 2010 · 9 days
Home11,120 sq ft · 9 bd / 5 ba
Lead contractorChris Rachuba

The nine-day build

Rain, heat, and even an earthquake

From July 10 to 18, 2010, crews assembled 11 modular units and 3 panelized sections into a finished home, just two days over an almost impossibly tight schedule. Lead contractor Chris Rachuba of The Rachuba Group directed the effort, with architecture by Judi Miller of Architecture by Design, modular construction by Excel Homes, and a precast foundation from Superior Walls by Weaver Precast.

The team pushed through torrential rain, temperatures above 90°F, water damage to drywall and insulation, and even a 3.6-magnitude earthquake on Friday morning, and still delivered the keys.

  • ~$1 million in donated materials, including 83 windows and 15 patio doors from Ply Gem
  • $30,000+ in donated architectural services
  • $25,000+ Superior Walls foundation donation
  • ~1,000 HBA member volunteers on site
You always have a place at our table.
The seven girls of Boys Hope Girls Hope, to lead contractor Chris Rachuba

Made possible by

The team behind the build

The Rachuba Group — Chris Rachuba Architecture by Design — Judi Miller Excel Homes Superior Walls by Weaver Precast Ply Gem Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

Build hope

Give a young person a place at the table

It takes a community to build a home like this. Give, or bring your trade to the next HBCF project.