Last October, Air Force Lt. Ryan Kenney's household goods were destroyed when the truck moving them from California to Ohio caught fire.
It was the family's sixth move in 13 years, this time for a compassionate reassignment because of their son's medical needs. The truck and its contents were declared a complete loss, including the family's furniture, clothes and all the special keepsakes from their son's younger years.
Kenney and his wife Alyssa started a GoFundMe page to help recoup some of the cost of replacing their household goods because the moving company's insurance didn't cover everything.
Then, Maria Reed of the military lifestyle home makeover show "Moving with the Military" stepped in.
"When we heard the story, my heart just [sank]. That could happen to any of us! What really hit home was not losing the couch or beds, but the things that are not replaceable -- photos, scrapbooks, baby blankets," Reed said in an email.
"Moving with the Military" typically surprises a military family by using volunteers from the local community to redo one room or section of their house. In December, Reed and her volunteers decorated 10 front porches for the holidays.
This time, the show decided to redo the Kenneys' whole house.
Reed explained that one room just didn't seem like enough. "Only do one bedroom or the dining room? They didn't even have dishes or towels. We had to figure out a way to do the entire house, which is normally not in our budget. We reached out to all our partners, and they felt exactly the same way."
The Kenneys' complete home makeover will first go live in three segments starting Wednesday, Jan. 13, on Moving With the Military’s social media and YouTube channels. But you can catch the full thing later on Farm and Ranch TV, a streaming service available on Apple TV, ROKU, and Amazon Fire.
View the first segment online today.
You can also view past episodes of "Moving with the Military" on Farm and Ranch TV’s website.
--Rebecca Alwine can be reached at rebecca.alwine@monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebecca_alwine.
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