TV's Extreme Makeover casting in Fort Myers

Do you know a family whose home deserves an Extreme Makeover? If so, the producers of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" want to hear from you.

Ty Pennington and his crew have been all across the map and now they want to drive that famous bus to Fort Myers.

"We are looking for the deserving people and inspiring families that America can really root for," said casting supervisor Morgan Fahey.

What does it take to be picked for an Extreme Makeover?

"We're looking for those special people who have amazing strength of character and never give up. Whether it's keeping their chin up in really tough circumstances or going out of their way to help others. We want to help people whose stories have really affected their community or made a big difference in other people's lives," Ms. Fahey said. "There are a lot of people who are heroes to those around them because of the way they inspire others and quietly serve their communities on a daily basis."

The "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" producers are looking for families whose homes desperately need to be rebuilt.

"We really want to help families whose homes present major problems for the family, those big issues that affect the family's quality of life on a daily basis," Ms. Fahey said. "We want to find deserving people who just don't have the resources, ability or time to fix those serious issues without our help."

To be eligible, a family must own its own single-family home and be able to show producers how a makeover will make a huge difference in their lives.

The deadline for nominations is Oct. 16.

Interested families should e-mail a short description of their family story to: castingsouthflorida@gmail.com

Nominations may be submitted by the family or by a member of their community.

Each nomination must include the names and ages of every member of the household along with a description of the major challenges within the home. Anyone submitting a nomination should be sure to explain why the nominated family is deserving, heroic or a great role model for the community. If possible, include a recent photo of the family. All nominations must include a contact phone number.

For more information on how to apply, visit http://abc. go.com/primetime/xtremehome/ index?pn=apply.

Each episode of "Extreme Makeover:

Home Edition" is self-contained and features a race against time to complete a project that would ordinarily take at least four months, involving a team of designers, contractors and several hundred workers who have just seven days to totally rebuild an entire property: every single room of the house, plus the exterior and landscaping.

The design team includes team leader Ty Pennington, with designers Paul DiMeo, Paige Hemmis, Michael Moloney, Ed Sanders, Tracy Hutson, Eduardo Xol and John Littlefield. New designers for this season will be Rib Hillis and Didi Ayer.