Mariah Riley was beaming.
The 11-year-old had just finished touring her family’s home, newly renovated in a construction blitz spearheaded by the LeBron James Family Foundation and the TV show Rehab Addict.
What did she like best?
Her bedroom, of course. Especially the huge mirror.
“I like to look at myself a lot,” she explained. “Make sure I look pretty.”
Mariah and her family got their first look at the house Sunday after a top-to-bottom, eight-day renovation that included a new kitchen and bathroom, fresh landscaping and a redecorated interior. It also included the installation of central air conditioning, much to the delight of Mariah’s mother, Melanie English.
The family helped with the project but had been kept away from the house since Thursday to preserve the surprise. The media were allowed to see only the exterior of the completed house, so as not to steal the thunder from the HGTV show that will air in the fall.
James and his wife, Savannah, toured the house with the family and the show’s star, Nicole Curtis, while volunteers and other spectators waited eagerly outside. The Jameses’ sons, LeBron Jr. (Bronny) and Bryce, passed the time like the kids they are, fiddling with a camera on a boom and chasing friends on the sidewalk.
A couple of times Mariah peeked out her second-floor bedroom window, waving to the crowd below with her Shih Tzu, Gizmo, in her arms.
Finally, the family members emerged and took their places in front of the house. The front door opened, and Curtis and the Jameses stepped onto the front porch to cheers from the crowd.
“I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s here,” James said. “Especially the contractors. You guys are unbelievable. … I have no idea how you did this.”
“Once again, Akron,” he said, “we’ve done it again.”
Curtis conceded the work was tough, but she said that as a mother, she was motivated to give Mariah and her brothers, Ezekiel and Xavier, spaces of their own.
“I want this to be my best project yet,” she said.
In just more than a week, the workers rescued the house from a forlorn state. Besides making cosmetic improvements, they addressed problems including a leaky basement, inadequate electrical service, mildew, broken light fixtures, sagging porches and a leaking water heater.
Mariah won the house makeover in a random drawing of new sixth-graders who had met certain academic and behavioral criteria as participants in James’ Wheels for Education program, which provides mentoring and support as well as inspiration from James.
The students who were eligible for the drawing were all members of the class of 2021, the first to be involved in the program. They’re graduating to its I Promise Network, which will support them through middle and high school.
The LeBron James Family Foundation reached out to Rehab Addict to take on the project after considering several HGTV shows, said Michele Campbell, the foundation’s executive director. She said one of the determining factors was the love Curtis has for her hometown of Detroit, which Campbell likened to James’ affection for Akron.
“It seemed like her values and LeBron’s values, they matched,” Campbell said.
The renovation was the centerpiece of the Promise Project, which also provided yard makeovers for nine other families of eligible sixth-graders in the Wheels for Education program. Local contractors and organizations donated materials and labor to the project, which also involved volunteers associated with the foundation — many of them James’ family members.
Campbell said the foundation plans to make the Promise Project a yearly event.
Besides giving Mariah a new house, the project gave her and her brothers something else: a chance to shoot baskets with one of the biggest stars in the NBA. After the house reveal, James and his sons joined the Riley kids in the driveway for a little hoop practice while the show’s camera crew captured the action.
Next to seeing her new bedroom, it might have been the coolest part of her day.
Mary Beth Breckenridge can be reached at 330-996-3756 or mbrecken@thebeaconjournal.com. You can also become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MBBreckABJ, follow her on Twitter @MBBreckABJ and read her blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/mary-beth.