Six months ago, John Vitale and his three young sons
buried their wife and mother, Ann Marie, on her 29th birthday. With their savings drained from medical bills, there was no money to complete the home renovations that the family had started to meet the needs of the growing boys. This March, Alure and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition came together for the third time to fulfill Ann Marie's dream of a storybook childhood home for her boys.

in the words of one insider on the set, “It made the Ali Makeover look like a walk in the park.” Crowds poured in every hour of the day and night to see Alure rise to the challenge. Alure triumphed again, turning the house over to Ty and the Design Team only four days and four hours after starting the demolition— despite the fact that Alure had to rebuild the home from SCRATCH when they uncovered major damage to the framing.

The week-long makeover also featured a mini-reunion when Lucy, Paul, and Kuran Ali (October 2004 Extreme Makeover) stopped by during the week to pitch in. They came back for the reveal and joined the Alure crew to welcome the Vitale Family home.

John Vitale couldn’t believe what he saw when his new home was revealed, “Alure did a wonderful job on the house, I love it. It's set up so nice, it's very comfortable.” Because of his recent, heart-wrenching loss, the experience was a bit overwhelming for John, “When the bus pulled away, I was very excited about how it looked from the outside, but also sad about starting a new life without Anne-Marie, which will be tough. As long as the kids are good, I'll be happy.” But, John’s smile was broad when he went inside, “I was excited, one of the best parts was when we opened the door, all three of my kids ran right past me and into the playroom….the best part of the house. It was great to see them run into the house and feel right at home.” John acknowledges the bittersweet reward of his new home, “The kids are adjusting…I'm adjusting. This is where my wife wanted us to be and Alure made it happen. It's wonderful to know that people really do care and were so willing to give up their time to do something good for someone else. It was just unbelievable.”

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