Local Grandmother Gets New Home

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By Melissa Wagner

Story Published: Feb 26, 2010 at 7:40 PM PDT

Yakima - We know that sometimes you need to hear about great things happening in our community, instead of just the bad news we have to report every day. And this is one of those stories. Call it "Yakima's Extreme Home Makeover."

Julie Cruz and her family had been living in cramped, cold quarters for decades. When she didn't get on the ABC show, the Yakima community stepped in. In a BIG way.

" Move that truck."

An emotional homecoming for this Grandmother and her grandsons. Julie Cruz left her old home about this time last year. It was completely demolished. And today, it's a brand new start.

" I never thought my dream would get this big for Julie," said Sharon Adams.

Cruz is well known in the community for her support and help with other grandparents raising their grandchildren. Sharon's dream started with just one person who wanted to give back to someone who has spent her life helping others, and ended up bringing together groups of volunteers from all over the city. Contractors, painters, landscapers and these ladies, who helped with the finishing touches.

" Everything here was all volunteer, so with a volunteer project like this, it's a little more difficult to keep a schedule and accurate timeline. People have paying jobs they have to pay attention to for their customers," said Bradley Meyer with Top Notch Construction.

That put them a couple of months behind. But Julie didn't mind. Another volunteer was taking good care of her family.

Donn Capp, Owner of Yakima's Papa Murphy's stores, said, " I had an old farmhouse on Washington that we were able to donate as we did the project."

Before the big unveil you can see there was a lot of work put into cleaning up this home and getting it absolutely perfect for the Cruz family.

Each boys room was decorated with items that would both inspire them and awe them. For Tony and Steven, it's skate boarding. All these items were donated by the Tony Hawk Foundation.

And it's all about football for the older boys.

" Oh, snap!"

And for the first time in decades, Julie will have her own bedroom too.

Sharon Adams said, " That's what I wanted for her more than anything was a place to call her own."

" Grandma's can be cinderellas too, " said Julie Cruz.

It's been a big day for Julie. And it will probably take her a while to get used to all the news gadgets. But one thing's for sure, she says it's not a house. It's a home.

Cruz said, " It's beyond what I expected. I can't bring my words together to say how beautiful it is."

The entire project cost about $150,000. But the volunteers say it's not about the cost, it's about giving back to someone who has spent a lifetime helping others.

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