Ideal Homes and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Host Blood Drive

Norman, Okla. (Jan. 23, 2009) - In conjunction with ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Ideal Homes and the American Red Cross will host blood drives across the Central Oklahoma area. The drives begin tomorrow and continue through Feb. 8.

First Lady Kim Henry will show her support by donating blood on Monday, Feb. 3 at the Heart of Oklahoma Red Cross Chapter in Norman. Tentative time for the First Lady's donation is 3 p.m.

"This is a community effort. In addition to building a home for a deserving family, we hope to help the entire metro area through the blood drives we are planning as part of this extraordinary week," said Todd Booze, Ideal Homes president of construction. "We ask people from across the area to answer our call for donors."

Blood drive locations are listed below. All those coming to donate will receive a commemorative Ideal Homes Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition T-shirt and a coupon from Whataburger:

For blood drive information updates, please visit www.IdealExtremeHome.com.

Ideal Homes has accepted ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition's challenge to build a new home for a special family in the Oklahoma City area. Ty Pennington and the design team will kick off the build when they knock on the door of one of five deserving families on Feb. 1. About Ideal Homes: Founded 20 years ago, Ideal Homes has consistently set the standard for innovative homebuilding and has been nationally recognized for the quality of its products and processes. Now Oklahoma's leading homebuilder, the company is locally owned and operated and is the winner of the premier Professional Builder of the Year Award for 2010, from Professional Builder Magazine; America's Best Builder Award for 2007, from Builder Magazine; and the prestigious National Housing Quality 2006 Gold Award from the National Association of Home Builders Research Center. Ideal Homes is a member of the National Association of Home Builders, Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association and the Norman Home Builders Association. The company has developed and builds in 17 communities throughout the Oklahoma City metropolitan area: Deer Creek, Edmond, Moore, Mustang, Newcastle, Norman, Oklahoma City, Piedmont and Yukon, and in Stillwater. About Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: The Emmy-award-winning reality program, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, now in its seventh season, is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It is executive-produced by Anthony Dominici. David Goldberg is Chairman, Endemol North America. The show airs Sundays from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET on ABC. How to Donate Blood: Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543) or visit bloodisneeded.org to make an appointment today. All blood types are needed to ensure the Red Cross maintains an adequate blood supply. A blood donor card or driver's license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Donors must be in general good health, weigh at least 110 pounds and be at least 17 years old. New height and weight restrictions apply to donors younger than 19. Visit bloodisneeded.org to learn more. About the American Red Cross: The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization - not a government agency - and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. ###