Flash player is required to view weather conditions. Download

site web  

WEST CHESTER TWP. — It has been a long wait for the Akers family, but breaking ground here for their handicap-accessible home may finally become a reality.

With the help of Team Lachey from NBC's "Clash of the Choirs," a fundraiser concert will take place May 30 at the West Chester Twp. Savannah Center. Event organizers said they anticipate raising close to $100,000 — enough to start building the home constructed completely with monetary and material donations.

The house will provide Brooke Akers, 7, and Faith Akers, 3, mobility in their home. Both girls suffer from Spinal Muscular Atrophy — a degenerative disease that limits mobility, and Brooke has to be carried from room to room. When Hopewell Elementary educators could not get ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" to build the Akers family a home last year, they decided to take on the matter themselves, launching a Cincinnati Home Makeover.

The goal is to build this spring after raising about $300,000 in materials and donations. The house would include large bathrooms, wide hallways, flooring that can withstand the weight of 200-pound wheelchairs and no-skid surfaces for Faith's crutches. There also will be a separate bathroom for Christian Akers, 9, who suffers from a severe case of Crohn's disease.

"Since winning the 'Clash of the Choirs' show, we have received almost 150 requests from people asking us to perform," said Lakota West math teacher Chuck Merk. "Since I teach at Lakota, I feel a personal need to help this family. There are many staff members district-wide who have volunteered their time to try to build the Akers a new home. I hope our appearance helps them raise the rest of the money needed to build that house."

Since appearing on television, the choir has learned new music and dancing to add to its repertoire.

"Flight of the Bumblebee" and "What a Wonderful World" have become the two most-requested pieces, he said.

"But rest assured, whatever we perform, it will be of the highest excitement and quality," he said.

It is uncertain at this point whether Nick Lachey will be able to attend, but there's a chance the choir will sing a song written by one of the Akers children, Merk said.

The Akers family spokeswoman Bren Reisch said they are overwhelmed by the response from the "Clash of the Choirs" and the community.

The Savannah Center is donating its facility and hors d'oeuvres for the event.