TCAC Depot partners with First Baptist Church of Morristown

to assist with the church's second "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"

As a result of the second "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" through First Baptist Church Morristown, Tommy Barnes, his wife and their six children are no longer living in a camper. They now have land and a completely renovated doublewide to call home.

"We don’t have the budget that ABC does and we don’t have Sears, but we have the help of the entire church," said Pastor Dean Haun.

"The story starts with a family of eight," said Joe Huntsman, who has, despite his protests, been dubbed the "granddaddy" of the project. "We found out they had been living in a camper … going from one campsite to another because they couldn’t afford to stay."

Barnes, who suffers from kidney and liver problems, works as much as he’s physically able to provide for his family. When the family’s home burned down, things went from bad to worse.

The church did a similar project for a family in Sneedville last year. Ironically, Barnes was one of the people who helped work on that family’s home, never thinking he’d be next. He also attended First Baptist Church as a child on the church’s ministry bus.

Both the property and the trailer were donated for the project. Clayton Homes in Elizabethton provided the trailer, which was designed as an office building.

Once the church had it moved to the property, the real work began.

Instead of a bunch of offices, the inside of the trailer now boasts five bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms and a spacious living area.

The majority of the furniture was donated from church members. The list of thank yous is long but the impact of this endeavor on the Barnes family is immeasurable.

Tennessee's Community Assistance Corporation (TCAC) was thrilled to be a part of the project.  The TCAC Depot was able to redistribute building materials and household goods for the home. 

Wallace Hardware, The Mattress Outlet, Clayton Homes, Appalachian Outreach, Bob Bible Insurance, College Park Pharmacy, H₂O Proof Systems, and Everhunt Builders are among many other partnering organizations that offered support for the project.