When there is a fan in need, you can count on a Christmas angel like Mariah Carey to bring some relief.
Especially when the person in need is a cheerleading coach who left college to care for his family after the death of his mother.
On this Sunday's holiday episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Mimi travels to Pensacola, Fla., to help out Ty Pennington & Co.—and to surprise homeowner Finis Gaston, who's a huge fan.
So how does he react?
Happy would be an understatement.
Finis jumps around like, well, a cheerleader. "Meeting Mariah Carey was a dream come true," he gushes. "I've got every one of her albums...and I got a hug from her now."
Finis—a scholarship student at Alabama A&M until his mother died his senior year—left school and returned home to raise his niece and nephews so they would not be sent to foster care. Mariah sits down with Finis to talk about his dreams and to remind him they're still in his reach.
Santa's little helper, indeed.
Extreme Makeover:Home Edition airs Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC.