1 in 10,000: Garrity Family Homeless No Longer (Video, Photos)

It could not happen to a more deserving family.

That seemed to be the consensus among friends and associates of the Garrity family, who up until this week had been housed in homeless shelters since 2008, when their home went into foreclosure.

Twelve-year-old Mackenzie Garrity, a seventh-grader at Frelinghuysen Middle School in Morris Township, wrote the winning entry among 10,000 in "Regis & Kelly's Dream Home Giveaway" contest, sponsored by the morning talk show program "Live With Regis & Kelly."

The self-described "dream come true" for the Garrity family came full circle Friday morning when they appeared one last time on the program, via satelite, after spending their first full night in their new home.

It was on Wednesday when the family was shocked to discover they had been named winners of the contest. They were met by longtime program co-host Regis Philbin, who accompanied the family from Morris Township to their new home in the Succasunna section of Roxbury Township.

It was a far cry from a few months ago when Mackenzie saw the "Dream Home" contest advertised on the program and decided to give it a shot.

In her letter, she wrote, "I am not writing this letter because we want this house, I am writing because we need this house.”

The Garrity's had lived with family and in shelter provided by Morristown and Morris Township-based since 2008, when their home had gone into foreclosure and the children's parents' marriage ended. Mackenzie is the oldest of the four children (including triplet boys Ryan, J.J. and Michael) for Judy Garrity, who has spent much of the last 20 years as a nurse's aide in the area, including time as an aide at the King James Care Center in Chatham and at

Amidst the hustle and bustle Friday of friends, family and several staff members from Frelinghuysen Middle School and Sussex Avenue School, the family excitedly gave tours of their new home, an existing house that was completely renovated, landscaped and furnished through the Regis & Kelly show, which partnered with the Stanley Steemer company for the contest. With each new room shown, voices got louder and more excited, from Mackenzie's room, to the boys, to even the "towel room," as one of the triplets described it.

Michael Gelman, executive producer for Live With Regis & Kelly, said they had wanted to give away another house for years, as they had done on the program about a decade ago.

"It was a huge success," he said. "We had been talking about doing it again, and the time was right. We were able to partner with someone who could help us out (Stanley Steemer) and it was a great fit.

"We decided to make this the season to do it," Gelman said.

Philbin, 79, who has hosted the program since its inception as "The Morning Show" in 1983, announced earlier this year his intentions to retire in November.

Unlike the program's last home giveaway, which Gelman said was "more of a random drawing, we wanted to this time make it about the letter and story.

"We got an incredible number of stories," he said. "We were looking for a balance of need, a good letter, a compelling story."

Gelman said the fact a 12-year-old girl wrote the letter, unlike most entries that were written by adults, made the Garrity's bid for the home compelling. "She (Mackenzie) was very articulate," he said. "[The family] had a lot of personality. It was a hard choice. We got a lot of great letters and families in need, but we decided on them. It turned out to be a great fit."

Words like "mature" and "personality" associated with Mackenzie come as little surprise to Ethel Minchello, the principal of Frelinghuysen Middle School.

"She's just one of those kids," Minchello said. "She's just a warm, sweet kid. And, she helps take care of those three little boys. She just has a maturity that, sometimes, a lot of kids don't have."

Mackenzie displayed some of that maturity, and a lot of exhuberance of youth, as she talked with reporters, friends looking to tour the house and on camera for the program.

When asked if she had a future in writing professionally, the soon-to-be 13-year-old said, "I really don't know ... maybe."

"I think she does," Gelman said. "I think she's a very mature young girl. She's had a lot of challenges in her life, but she seems very postive, upbeat and a very smart girl."

Of the new home, he said, "they were very appreciative. They said they felt this was really a life changer. We're very happy for them."

When the family got on the air Friday morning, Minchello said, "we all ran into the curriculum office [to watch]. We were so pleased."

Though, the principal notes, the great fortune comes with a bit of sadness, as well. With the move about 10 miles away, the children will be in a new school district. "We will miss them," Minchello said. "You just have joy for a family like that."