Ms. Cheap's Contest Brings Reader and Project Redesign Together

Today Project Redesign did a room makeover for a wonderful 16 year old young man who attends MLK. His mother wrote a heartfelt letter to Ms. Cheap in November (see January 5th blog entry) saying she would redo his bedroom if someone gave her $500.00. Her letter says it all.

Thanks to all who helped bring this redesign together:

Vester Bradshaw and Yank James for painting, Kaye Kimbro for donating the lamps and framing the poster and artwork, Consumer Depot for donating a flat screen TV, IPod, & X-Box, Mattress Unlimited for a brand new full size mattress, Amy Grant, Jerry Regan, & Phyllis Mayfield who helped with the installation, Avenue Bank for their donation, and Mary Hance (Ms. Cheap) who brought us all together.

Ms. Cheap Contest

Last November, Ms. Cheap asked readers to tell her what they would do if someone gave them $500.00. She received over 800 compelling essays and passed the following one to Project Redesign...

Dear Ms. Cheap,
I’d like to win the $500 to redo my 16 yr. old son’s room. I know that
doesn’t sound like much, but Kendall shared a room with his brother
Blake for 7 yrs until Blake’s passing in 2009. Blake was on a
ventilator at home and he needed around the clock care, so someone was
in the room all the time.

Honestly, Kendall never complained about the lack of privacy. Sometimes
in the middle of the night there’d be alarms going off, and we’d be
working on Blake and Kendall would just roll over to make sure
everything was O.K. before going back to sleep.

Since Blake has been gone, Kendall has been having a hard time
sleeping, and I wonder if it’s because of the remnants of Blake’s stuff
everywhere. Snoopy and Pooh are not really appropriate for a boy of
16. I’ve given a lot of stuff away, and packed away other stuff, but
some of it is still there because I don’t want to see the room half
empty.

I’d like to give Kendall a big boy’s room with a nice desk for
schoolwork, a small flatscreen TV, a bookcase, and a cool chair or
something for when he has friends over.

We have had to go on without Blake, but I want to encourage and
strengthen my remaining son by blessing him with a new room. It’s long
overdue.

Thanks for your consideration,

Leslie


Project Redesign and some very generous donors are doing a complete makeover on Kendall's bedroom. Thanks to Vester Bradshaw and Yank for taking time out of their busy schedules to paint the room. This involved removing a wallpaper border and covering a very dark color, out of our realm of expertise. Tomorrow we will furnish and accessorize so stay tuned!!

Disco Dance 2011 gives to Project Redesign

Disco Dance 2011 donated $7300 to Project Redesign from the proceeds raised at their annual event held on November 25th. We would like to thank event organizers Jeff Snyder, Tyler Augusty, and Walker Mathews, and all of the young adults who attended. You are all so awesome and we are so grateful!

Merry Christmas

Project Redesign wants to thank our friends for donating a mountain of toilet paper for the families at the Martha O'Bryan Center!

Redesigns by Serendipity

Five generous women from West End Methodist redesigned a master and a little girl's bedroom just in time for the holidays. The group called Serendipity, led by Arden McElroy, braved the rainy weather to put these two beautiful rooms together. They also brought Christmas decorations, gifts, and a food basket. Merry Christmas!

Before and After

Four Bedroom Makeover by Ensworth Seniors

Four Ensworth seniors chose Project Redesign as their senior project. Nikki Gittens, Kyara Byner, ReJean Rouse, and Maya White did 4 bedroom makeovers today for a single mother and her five children in the Cayce homes. New to Nashville, this large family had almost no furniture and the Ensworth gals interviewed the family, designed the rooms, collected and painted furniture, shopped for bedding and accessories, washed and ironed, cleaned the rooms and then decorated them. All four deserve an A++!! Thanks also to Ensworth gentlemen Ford Garrard, Daniel Everett, and Mitchell Moore for providing all the muscle, moving a truck-load of furniture and doing all of the heavy lifting. It was a real team effort!

Rainy Day Redesigns

Four bedroom redesigns for four children, done in the pouring rain. Thanks to Kirsten Whitsett and Patsy Harvey for helping out inspite of the weather.

Top Floor Soars

Top Floor, the after-school teen center at Stratford High School (furnished by Project Redesign), has been open for little more than a year and already boasts some impressive stats. The staff there lead by Kent Miller served 223 students last year, a little over 30% of the school; 100% of program participants raised their grade in a core academic class or maintained an A average; 84 students increased their ACT scores on average 2.8 points; 100% of seniors (66/66) graduated; 97% of seniors (64/66) were accepted into college; $2 million plus was secured in grants and scholarships. We are so proud of their accomplishments!

Family Room Redesign for Salvation Army

The communal family room in the Salvation Army's Transitional Living Quarters is finished and ready to be enjoyed. Project Redesign would like to thank all who helped make this very warm and functional room possible:

Julie Smith for providing the entertainment center
Sarah Cannon Research Institute (headed up by Corrie Keating) for donating books and toys
The Ensworth High School Service Learning Group for cleaning and organizing the toys: Sarah Awad, Elam Mangum, Buggy Stallings, Blair Wilson, and Lauren Rupley (faculty)
Painters Danny Hopkins and Rick Anderson