The Emmy-award winning television show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” fell in love with the Rucker sisters’ story of love and hope that ultimately landed them a new, custom designed home by Pilot Builders and constructed by both Pilot and Smart builders.

Anaiah, a rising fifth-grader, dreams of someday becoming a doctor or a lawyer. She’s a straight-A student who loves playing sports and singing in the chorus. She also has a love for her family that is unmatched, and literally jumped in front of a truck to save her little sister, Camry, from being hit and killed. Anaiah lost a limb in the accident and with life threatening injuries, and after the initial danger had passed, she had to endure numerous hours of grueling physical therapy and will face a lifetime of modifications. Throughout the hardships, the city of Madison has embraced the family and honored Anaiah’s sacrifice by constant support, something for which her aunt, Tammy Elderlowe, is grateful.

“My family is very excited and happy that my niece, Andrea Taylor [Anaiah’s mother], and her three girls are getting the home they deserve. God is so good. Anaiah is a very sweet girl and very deserving. I know this opportunity will change her life and we are so very grateful that she is being honored this way,” she said.

Mark Schlabach, an ESPN reporter and a resident of Madison, found the story of brave little Anaiah to be especially poignant, and has been leading much of the fundraising to help build the home.

Doug Tumlin of Pilot Builders has never taken on a job of such magnitude in such a short amount of time. Although the project is daunting, Tumlin is in awe of the amount of community support.

“This is a lot more condensed. Basically we have been planning the design for one month and we will build the home in five days. It is so much easier with the support of the community and the show. We were hesitant to do it at first, but when we did our research, we knew it would be a great thing to do. This family is special and we wanted to be a part of that,” Tumlin said.

Tumlin has seen no shortage of enthusiasm since the news that “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” announced it had chosen a family in the region. The town has actively been raising money for the building fund; a non-profit charity was started at United Bank. United Bank has been one of the major supporters and sponsors of the project.

“The money used to build the home is mostly from donations. It is not only the suppliers and donators, but also members in the community who decided to work without pay for a few days and give it to the family or work extra to have the money to give as a donation to the family,” Tumlin said. “The show has a connection with national suppliers like Kholer, Superior Walls, and Lumber Liquidators, which also helps out.”

The city of Madison must totally supply the labor, however with a show as popular as Extreme Makeover, the moral is certainly there. When the few finalist families were notified of their potential “winning” status, certain preliminary questions were asked of each family to discover a bit more about their decorating styles. When Ty Pennington knocked on the Taylor-Rucker family door to wish them the best morning of their lives on Sunday, the entire design team met with the family to find out even more about their likes and dislikes, as well as what they would most like to have in their home. After packing up their things and talking to the designers, the family was whisked away to the most magical place on earth: Disney World.

Kerrie Wofford of Complete Accounting Solutions in Madison, has signed up to help build the family’s home on Friday. Her daughter’s favorite show is “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

“They completely deserve the house. I want to help out and just about all of my Facebook friends have signed up as well. I hope they enjoy the house and I want Anaiah to be healthy and happy from now on. She’s got a lot of support from this community and that is wonderful,” Wofford said.

Even local businesses, like Ella’s Sweet Shoppe, have done what they can to help the family. For $20 an “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” shirt can be purchased with all of the proceeds going to the family. They say it takes a village to raise a family, but sometimes it takes a village to build a family up, as well. For more information on how to get involved, log on to pilotbuilders.com and click on the link to donate to the family, or sign up for a time to help build a home that will forever change this family’s life.