National Geographic Donates Furnishings for Remodeled Home

Furniture World Magazine

National Geographic has contributed furniture and accessories from its award-winning Home Collection to ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition television show to help a family who has adopted five orphaned children. In the episode set to air Sunday, March 27, at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT, viewers can watch the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team convert the Leomiti/Higgins family’s modest, three-bedroom, ranch-style house into a spacious, multilevel home able to comfortably accommodate the newly formed 11-person household. 2004 was a heart-wrenching year for the five Higgins children, who lost their mother in April to breast cancer, and their father three months later. The Leomiti family, the Higginses’ former neighbors, opened their hearts and home to the five orphaned children. Already a household of six, the Leomitis invited the Higgins children to join their family. “It is a pleasure for National Geographic to be part of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The show has a great mission, and it’s wonderful to be part of a project that helps and supports deserving families across the United States,” said Krista Newberry, National Geographic’s vice president, licensing, soft lines. The Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team, led by carpenter Ty Pennington, consists of designers, contractors and hundreds of volunteer workers who rebuild a deserving family’s home —including interior, exterior and landscaping — all in one week. The National Geographic Home Collection was inspired by the world. All of National Geographic’s net proceeds from the sale of the Home Collection go to the Society’s World Cultures Fund to support the study and preservation of world cultures. The fund supports the work of archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, artists and other professionals working in cultural areas. National Geographic provided furnishings and accessories for this project from its first two award-winning collections: West Indies and Tropic Winds. Six National Geographic licensees and their products were utilized in the Leomiti/Higgins home: National Geographic also donated a one-year subscription to National Geographic magazine along with books, maps, atlases, DVDs and a globe. For more information on the National Geographic Home Collection, log on to www.nghome.com. About Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. The series is executive-produced by Tom Forman. The show airs Sundays (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET), on the ABC Television Network. About National Geographic: Founded in 1888, the National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Its mission is to increase and diffuse geographic knowledge while promoting the conservation of the world’s cultural, historical and natural resources. National Geographic reflects the world through magazines, television programs, films, books, videos, maps, interactive media and merchandise. National Geographic magazine, the Society’s official journal, published in 24 languages, is read by some 40 million people each month in every country in the world. The National Geographic Channel reaches more than 230 million households in 27 languages in 151 countries. Nationalgeographic.com averages around 50 million page views per month. National Geographic has funded nearly 8,000 scientific research projects and supports an education program combating geography illiteracy. For more information, log on to nationalgeographic.com, AOL Keyword: NatGeo.