Catholic faith set the foundation for 'Extreme Makeover' homebuilder

Charlotte, N.C., Jan 28, 2012 / 11:03 am

Frank Hereda has moved around a bit during his 35 years, but he keeps the values he learned growing up in a Catholic family and as a Catholic student close to his heart wherever he goes.

Hereda, who lived in Ohio, Indiana and Washington, D.C. before moving to Charlotte, N.C. five years ago, is co-founder of Bellamy Homes in Cornelius, N.C., the builders of the latest “Extreme Makeover” home in Lincolnton, N.C., that was completed Dec. 17, 2011. The home will house foster parents Devonda and James Friday of Lincolnton and their children, five of whom they recently adopted.

Hereda credits his family and his childhood with his desire to help others in need.

"I was born and raised Catholic. I went to St. Paul's Catholic School in Indiana. It's played a large role in my life in the fact that it instilled values from the start and that has shaped my life in an important way."

Hereda and his Bellamy Homes partner, Wade Miller, were friends at Purdue University, and have teamed up to build a company that reflects the Catholic values Hereda learned in his youth.

Their company took a huge leap of faith and trust in reaching out to help the Lincolnton family, whose story appeared this past Christmas on a special two-hour episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on ABC.

"We wanted a solid foundation (for the company)" Hereda said. "The first thing that came to mind was trust. It's the most important thing."

Building a 4,000-square-foot home in basically four days is going to require a great deal of trust and faith, Hereda admits.

"My faith is important to me. I have always focused on doing the right things... I think that if you just focus on doing the right things – in this case we are focusing on helping this family – we'll be fine. It will work out how it's supposed to work out."

Bellamy Homes and its partners, suppliers and contractors are all donated their time and resources to build the home on Moore Street in Lincolnton, N.C., which is valued at more than $200,000. An army of more than 3,000 volunteers, including students and faculty from Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., also helped to build this dream home.

Hereda's parents and family from Cleveland, Ohio came to help during the build as well.

"We're focused on building this home for the family, raising as much money as we can for them and making sure the home is built well," Hereda said. "Community is instrumental and we are very fortunate at how many people have stepped up and decided to help out."

The Fridays returned from an all-expenses-paid dream vacation to Jamaica on Dec. 17, 2011.

Hereda and Miller, along with host Ty Pennington and the design team of “Extreme Makeover,” and the army of volunteers waited for them to reveal their new home – just in time to celebrate Christmas together as a family.

Posted with permission from the Catholic News Herald, newspaper for the Diocese of Charlotte, N.C.