Giving Back with an Ellicott City 'Good Fella'

Standing within a cavernous, bare room of a 5,000 sq. ft. row house in downtown Baltimore that was recently ravaged by a fire, Ellicott City resident William Peach, 41, explains that there is still much to be done.

As he describes his vision, he points out various areas within the gutted room that he insists have potential, even within the  dark, cold and austere space that it is. Pointing to the skeletal-like wooden frames that give the room its shape, and the shiny, heating infrastructure that snakes up the wall, Peach outlines where the bathroom will be, where the beds will go, and that the hope is to have new flooring put in throughout.

“The place will be really nice when we’re done,” he notes optimistically.

Peach is not a general contractor. Nor has he been put on the project to flip the house. Instead, he’s one of the stars of a new reality show will soon air on FOX 45 TV, which has brought together members of the local business community to tackle various service projects throughout the greater Baltimore area.

The show’s tagline? “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”

Each week, the show, called “Good Fellas of Baltimore,” will feature families and nonprofits in need of a helping hand. Meanwhile, each of the show’s seven stars are area entrepreneurs who have been dubbed the “Goodfellas,” a moniker typically associated with TV gangsters. The show, which has similarities to such shows as “Extreme Home Makeover: Home Edition,” has been billed by its producers as a “multi-platform movement” inviting fans and sponsors to get involved in volunteerism.            

The first episode features the Chiosi family of 10, whose row house was damaged in a June fire. On camera, Peach can be seen fielding phone calls and working with team members to pull the project together.

“Piece for piece we’re trying to rebuild it,” Peach explains.

But because the show is a start-up production, the brain-child of local actor/producer A.J. Ali, the repairs have taken longer than expected. Even though the episode that featured the family has already been taped, the house is still a ways from being completed.

However, that does not seem to bother Peach.

A compact man with a cherubic face and child-like energy that belies his years, Peach is not the type to be put off easily. A sales associate with the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage office in Ellicott City, Peach is chatty and fast-talking. A self-described “A-type” personality, he has been in the real estate business for 17 years. On a recent day off, as he checks in on the Chiosi family minus the cameras, he wears his hair slicked back and spiked, his jeans ripped, and a leather jacket that gives off a hip, younger vibe.

He says he got involved in the program through the show’s creator Ali, a longtime friend.

With some amusement, Peach admits he didn’t know what the show would involve, but decided that conceptually it was so positive that he couldn’t turn it down. He’s since devoted countless hours of his time since early winter volunteering to help the Chiosi family have a better place to live.

“The biggest thing about this is the people that I’ve met,” the Randallstown native explains. He describes Wade Brown, a man he befriended through the show who runs local nonprofit-- Diakon Kathryn’s Kloset-- as one of his heroes.

“I wish I could impact as many people as he does,” Peach marvels. “He just has such a love for what he’s doing.”

Peach seems excited about both his new-found volunteerism and about the show’s vision-- to get more people motivated to serve.

Even in rehabbing the home, he says he’s surprised at how many businesses have donated their services for free, although he admits some have been more willing than others.

“Big companies are the hardest…You get pushed off a lot,” Peach explains. Yet through the frustration he adds, “I never expected people to step up as much as they have…Some people who have come to us have really put up a lot of money.”

And while doing the show on top of working full time and parenting two young children can be stressful, giving up does not seem to be in his nature.

“It was a lot more work than I thought it was going to be,” he says. “But it’s definitely shown me that one person can make a difference. You’ve just got to make the time…It makes you re-shuffle your priorities.”

In his online biography, show creator Ali writes, “My belief in the simple power of ‘loving thy neighbor’ to transform communities, the city and surrounding areas is being put to the ultimate test with the show and the movement.”

To coincide with the show, Ali has created an online networking group called the “M.O.B.,” which stands for the Mentors of Baltimore, where viewers can sign up for volunteerism.

As for the other “Goodfellas,” on the show, they include such entrepreneurs as Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse franchise owner Steve de Castro and Graphic Press owner Vince Sharps.

“We each bring something completely different to the table,” Peach explains.

While it is yet to be seen what the success of the show will be, at least in the mind of Peach, a positive movement has started.

And to Tasha Chiosi, the mother of eight whose home has already been fixed for the better, says, “It’s been a blessing.”

To learn more about the show, visit: www.goodfellasofbaltimore.com