This time of the year is known for barbeques, beaches and attempting to keep cool for most people on Long Island. But for some, when an opportunity to lend a helping hand and comes about, they cannot refuse.

Deirdre McDonough, owner of Relaxation Retreat in Merrick, is one of those people.

McDonough was among the hundreds of volunteers who recently made their way to East Setauket to help out the cast and crew of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in their mission to build a home for a deserving family.

The house in East Setauket is now the home for Kathleen Lutz, John Lutz Jr. and their six brothers and sisters with Down's syndrome.

The hundreds of people who helped out with the construction of the home were not the only volunteers on site. There were catering companies and even massage therapists–such as McDonough–nearby for any volunteer in need of their services.

McDonough set up a relief tent for volunteers.  Workers would drop by whenever they had some free time. These volunteers would come to the relief tent in spurts, according to McDonough, whenever a project was finished. She said there was not a steady flow of people, but there would be certain times of the day where it would be busy.

"Everyone was so grateful," McDonough said of the crew. "It gave them a needed relief and a break from the work they had been doing, some of them were there as long as we were, 15-18 hours a day."

There were 30 massage therapists in all, offering both chair and table massages. There were also 10 chiropractors on the volunteer staff. These volunteers were from the Relaxation Retreat staff, the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), and people who heard about the cause one way or another in the weeks leading up to the build. McDonough was responsible for coordinating all of the therapists.

The tent was up and running 24 hours a day from June 23-26; McDonough estimates that a few hundred workers were treated in the relief tent over that time.

This marked the third time McDonough has volunteered her time to the Extreme Makeover crew. Her first time was in 2006 in Jamaica, Queens and her second was a project outside of Albany a few years later.

McDonough got involved with these projects through Allure Home Improvements, which she does contract work for. Her time in East Setauket was completely voluntary though; no workers received compensation of any kind for their efforts.

"It was well attended by volunteers and spectators," McDonough said. "A lot of people were involved, this time more than ever. Everybody was very enthusiastic about helping."

McDonough was pleased with the efforts of all of the volunteers, as she said there was a sense of pride one feels when finishing a project of that magnitude.

"It's exciting see how much people can accomplish when they pull together," McDonough said. "We were giving to the other givers, we weren't directly building the house or painting a wall, but we were keeping the people going that were."