Rio Tinto
4700 Daybreak Parkway
South Jordan, Utah 84095
www.riotinto.com
www.daybreakutah.com
For immediate release
Media Contact:
Suzanne Davis
203.807.3779
[email protected]
News Release
GOMEZ FAMILY SELECTED AS RECIPIENT OF
EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION PROJECT
SOUTH JORDAN, UT – ABC’s popular reality show, Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition announced today that the Daybreak project will benefit the family of Jonah
Gomez, a boy with two rare blood disorders currently living in Taylorsville, Utah.
Holmes Homes will be constructing a new home for the family from the ground up
near Daybreak’s Oquirrh Lake.
At just seven years old, Jonah first
gained local media attention when he
charmed the fans of a Real Salt Lake
game last April. As part of his MakeA-Wish foundation request, tiny Jonah
was able to stand in the stadium and
meet the team’s players as well as
sing alongside American Idol icon,
David Archuleta. Now, a year later,
Jonah continues to struggle to stay
alive, combatting two blood diseases,
resulting in thousands of dollars a
year in medical expenses. Although Jonah must take oxygen while he sleeps and is
often not able to play outside with the extreme weather in Utah being too hot or too
cold, you’d never know it from his joyful demeanor. His mother, Jessica, couldn’t
hide the tears when Extreme Makeover: Home Edition showed up at her door.
Having given up her airline job to take care of Jonah, she lost her health insurance
last November and has done her best to soldier on. Now, not only will she, Jonah
and her five-year-old daughter Ellie be the recipient of a brand new home in
Daybreak designed specifically to help Jonah, but money is already being raised by
the new community in an effort to help cover Jonah’s on-going care.
While many Extreme Makeover: Home Edition projects demolish an existing home,
the Gomez home will be built from the ground up, starting today. Rio Tinto’s
Kennecott Utah Copper has donated an empty lot at the corner of Daybreak’s
Oquirrh Lake Road and Talquin Lane in South Jordan, and is coordinating the
planning, donation and volunteer efforts. Holmes Homes and its team of builders,
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sponsors and volunteers who are donating their time and much of the materials will
build the home in less than a week. The new location will provide the Gomez family
with a healthy, convenient, and energy saving lifestyle, with access to Oquirrh Lake,
several large parks and play equipment, as well as the Eastlake Elementary
School—all within a five-minute walk. The TRAX light rail service coming this
summer will provide the family with quick, direct access to the university of Utah and
Primary Children’s Medical Center where Jonah is receiving regular treatments.
―We are confident that we’ve selected the best possible location to build this new
home,‖ said Ty McCutcheon, Vice President of Community Development at Rio
Tinto, the developers of Daybreak. ―Like every home in Daybreak, the Gomez family
will be able to take advantage of more opportunities for social interaction and
recreation, as well as be welcomed into a community of love and support.‖
The family will also receive an even greater surprise during the week.
For years Jonah has needed a bone marrow transplant and has had difficulty finding
a match because he’s of Latin descent—statistically, fewer minorities join the
National Marrow Donor Program. After learning of his plight, MLS soccer stadiums
around the country in Pasadena, Washington D.C., San Jose, Philadelphia, Dallas
and Kansas City will be holding concurrent bone marrow drives on Saturday, June
25th during their games in Jonah’s honor—registering thousands of people to be
tested in one day. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition designers Michael Moloney and
Paige Hemmis will kick off the campaign at Rio Tinto stadium, filming fans being
registered for testing and showing support for Jonah during the halftime show for
Real Salt Lake’s game against the Toronto FC. Zions Bank will also have booths at
the stadium for fans to make cash donations towards completion of the home, the
family’s medical expenses and home maintenance. To buy tickets, visit
realsaltlake.com/tickets. Those not attending the game that would like to register for
the National Marrow Donor Program are encouraged to visit the website
GetSwabbed.org for more information.
The Daybreak Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project is still in need of volunteers
and donations to be able to complete the Gomez home. The project team will be
holding a benefit concert with David Osmond, Alex Boyé, Thurl Bailey and
comedian Jason Hewlett Tuesday, June 28 at Herriman High School at 7 p.m.
Tickets will be $20 at the door.
For information on how you can help, please visit daybreakutah.com or
facebook.com/Daybreakutah. You can also make a donation at any Zions Bank
branch under the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Daybreak account.
ABC-TVs Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Find out how you get involved and be a part of the extreme team by visiting
www.joinextreme.com, becoming a fan on Facebook at
www.facebook/extrememakeoverhomeedition or following the latest updates at
www.twitter/extremehome.com.
The Emmy award winning reality program ―Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,‖ entering its 9th
season, is produced by Endemic USA, a division of Endemic Holding. It’s executive-produced by
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Brady Connell and George Verschoor. David Goldberg is Chairman, Endemic North America.
Starting this fall the show will be moving to its new time slot, show Fridays from 8:00-9:00 p.m.,
ET on ABC.
About Holmes Homes
A fifth-generation, family-owned business, The Holmes family has been helping to build the
greater Salt Lake Valley community since 1936. In 2004 Holmes became the first homebuilder to
join the Daybreak team. And since then, the company has garnered a third of all new home sales
in the community. Holmes recently was recognized by the National Association of Home Builders
for ―Best Interior Merchandising of a Model‖ and last year received one of the industry’s most
prestigious awards – the ―2010 Builder of Integrity‖ award from Quality Builders Warranty
Corporation – in recognition of their outstanding performance. More at HolmesHomes.com.
About Daybreak
Daybreak is a fresh way of thinking about community. Made up of a wide variety of energyefficient new homes as well as shops, restaurants, offices, schools, trails, parks and more,
Daybreak brings all the elements of life within easy walking or biking distance. And TRAX light
rail service will soon make life in Daybreak even more convenient and environmentally friendly.
The community is situated on 4,126 acres in South Jordan City and will eventually include as
many as 20,000 homes and up to 14 million square feet of commercial space. There are
currently 10 homebuilders constructing a broad range of home types and styles throughout the
community. To learn more about Daybreak, please visit www.daybreakutah.com. Daybreak is
located at 11400 S. & Bangerter Highway.
About Rio Tinto and Kennecott Utah Copper
As the second largest copper producer in the United States, Kennecott Utah Copper comprises
nearly 25 percent of U.S. copper production. Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon Mine is one of the top
producing copper mines in the world with total production at more than 19 million tons. In 2010,
Kennecott produced approximately 296,000 tons of copper, 596,000 ounces of gold, 4.7 million
ounces of silver, 28 million pounds of molybdenum and other products. Rio Tinto purchased the
Bingham Canyon Mine and related facilities in 1989 and has invested more than $2 billion in the
modernization since then. KUC has also spent more than $350 million on the cleanup of historic
mining waste and $100 million on groundwater cleanup. Rio Tinto employs 2,400 people and
influences 14,800 indirect Utah jobs and spends $1 billion in the state of Utah in wages, benefits,
taxes and purchases from nearly 1,000 Utah area businesses every year. www.kennecott.com
Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the United Kingdom,
combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is
listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are
aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax,
titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in
Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and
Southern Africa. www.riotinto.com
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