Nannies Giving Back by Shellie Braeuner

Nannies Giving Back: introduction by Glenda Propst

One of the things that we like to do here at Regarding Nannies is to feature professional nannies who are giving back to their community.
The following article is written by Shellie Braeuner who shares with us her experience helping on “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” when they helped rebuild a school damaged in the Spring flooding this year.
This segment is scheduled to air this Sunday, November 14 at 8 EST on ABC.

My Experience working with Extreme Makeover
by Shellie Braeuner

In September of this year, I got the opportunity to join my sister as we lived out a dream: We volunteered and worked on an Extreme Makeover Project.  Unlike most of the programs, this episode won’t be about building a house for a family in need.  Many people don’t know it, but on May 1^st of this year, Nashville, TN suffered the worst flooding in more than 500 years.  Thousands of people were shocked as we watched a portable classroom; uprooted by the flash flooding, float down the interstate.  It belonged to Lighthouse Christian Academy, a small Christian school in Southeast Nashville.  Part of their K-12 campus was on land so low, that the building was lifted off its foundation. The permanent buildings in the valley housed their pre-school and were flooded to the rafters.

But rather than cry about what they had lost, the school opened up the buildings that were safe to their neighbors. They housed, fed and encouraged hundreds during the disaster.  To thank them, their friends and neighbors nominated the school for Extreme Makeover.  Rather than dealing with a single, private home, the show took on the challenge of building an almost 7000 square foot commercial pre-school in seven days.

Watching the pre-school go up was like watching a ballet.  One crane would lift a strut and as soon as it was in place and released the second would swing into place while the first crane loaded up with another piece.  One end was being sided while the center was wrapped, and the other end was still being framed.

I was disappointed when I first signed in and was told that I couldn’t work in the building.  Because the project was a commercial building rather than a house, the show’s policy of closed toe shoes and shorts was thrown out the window.  So I was banished to the catering tent.  There I met Donna.  Donna, of Famous Donna’s catering, was in charge of feeding 250-400 people every four hours 24 hours a day all week long.  She was also in charge of keeping them cool and hydrated, which meant keeping water, powerade, soda and energy drinks iced at all times.

I bought my first pair of steel toed shoes the next day, and was able to get down to the build site. It was day three of the build and the land had been a hole in the ground only 48 hours before, was now a free- standing, ten room Pre-school.  I was able to get into the partially built school and mud drywall.  Teams of electricians, plumbers and HVAC designers installed their equipment through carefully designed holes that were sealed, mudded and painted as soon as they were done.

After the basic building, designers came through and filled the rooms with pictures, murals, desks, equipment and toys.  It was like a massive troop movement with little tiny chairs.  By the time I left, just a few hours before the reveal, the building was filled to the seams with designers directing muralists to put finishing touches on paintings, volunteer teachers who were arranging the classrooms, and landscaping experts who literally built a wall of plants.  (I can’t wait for everyone to see that!  And it’s the entrance to Ty’s Secret Room!  Shhh!)

The show will be about the celebrities and the designers, I may be in it, or I may end up on the cutting room floor.  But it won’t matter one little bit.  For me this week was about the people I met, the new friends I made and the children whose lives will be changed when they attend the new pre-school.

I met Jill, who worked for Hardaway Construction.  She was a rock for literally thousands of people all week in spite of no sleep.

I met Lisa, a former teacher who spent the week building the school. (Current teachers weren’t allowed inside until the reveal.)  She shared all the background about the flooding, special people, and the history of the school.

I met Siniah, a five year old who was thoroughly traumatized when Ty Pennington destroyed the old building.  Her very wise teacher, Ms Pam, told her that things have to be cleared away for new and better things to come.  Siniah wrote a beautiful story about the flood, watching the destruction and building the new school.  I got to meet this little author, and that was the celebrity encounter that I treasure most!

I think the most telling moment for me came on the last day of the build.  The whole week had a Noah’s Ark theme, as we worked to rebuild the school from a flood.  On that very last day of building, the only rain of the entire week fell briefly on the work site. It rained just long enough for me to snap a picture of a rainbow arced over the school.

It was like a promise of protection, and abundance and grace.

About Shellie:

Shellie Braeuner earned a Master’s of Education from Vanderbilt University in counseling.  So, of course, she became a nanny!  Shellie has been caring for children for more than 25 years.  After telling children stories for years, friends and family encouraged her to look into publishing.  After three years of hard work, Shellie won the Cheerios New Author Contest in 2008. Simon and Schuster purchased the book,
The Great Dog Wash for publication.  The book was named a Best Book of 2010 by Bank Street.

Look for an in-depth interview with Shellie in an upcoming Table Talk Thursday.