InnVision (Women's Shelter)

I appreciate the opportunity to BRAG about my fellow ASPers. From start to finish they were a fabulous, committed team. Focused on... Getting it "DONE," and doing whatever it takes to get there. Our project; Staging an office space (which was used previously for storage) to accommodate 4 caseworkers at Inn Vision in the Georgia Travis Center.

Without hesitation we told Autumn Gutierrez, director of Public Relations for Inn Vision, we were ready to transform this place beyond her wildest dreams. She sugested the tropical theme and we ran with it.

"Thank you so much for all your loving and expert efforts. You have created a place of dignity and serenity for our staff. For these front-line folks that deal with the reality of the hardships of our clients it means such a great deal to have a respite area to work in," Quote from Autumn Gutierrez

This building is a drop in center for homeless and at-risk women and children. The center offers these folks a chance for hot meals, baby supplies, showers, laundry services, case management, computer training, job search counseling, drug and alcohol counseling, classes in English as a second language, medical care, legal aid, housing referrals, transportation, mail and voice mail services, self-help workshops, and child care with indoor and outdoor play areas .

On Wednesday, Karen Dayton and her husband showed up with paint and brushes and painted the place in Desert Tan, a Red back wall and white trim. Her husband, owner of Painting Pros in Los Gatos, CA. donated their crew, the paint made the room brighter and we now had a clean pallet. Karen also had the chore of hiding the computer wires and equipment. She did her job and no one would know there is such a thing in the room.

Monica Melger arrived the next day with her Krud Cutter and proceeds to scrub and shine the entire room and it's contents.She also made sure we had water, snacks and coffee the day of the event. She was our gofer and helped each of us in whatever was in needed

We decided to each take a specific portion of the room. With 9 active people doing the jobs we had plenty to go around. Wendy Sikes, Lisa Reigal and Karen Dayton, Ellen Harrington were not able to attend on Saturday due to previous commitments, but were with us in spirit. Our day began at 8:00 AM and ended at 7:45PM.

On Saturday Jaylene and her 2 fabulous John's, yep both guys were named John. Came in and with a wiggle of their nose and rolling pen we had new linoleum in the computer area. Another transformation from Nationwide Floors and Windows who so generously donated their free time and material to be a part of this worthy Community Service Day

Melanie Terry was in charge of wall decorations. From palm pictures from our favorite place "Big Lots" to a finds at the Goodwill, a large frame and 2 golf clubs so creatively made into wall decor, to real fish net as a back drop and focal point. Tanya Heffernan and her sister Linda Gheen made sure the boring black bookcase was cleverly transformed into a haven for only the finest books to rest upon, and added height to the sitting area, no Titanic here. Anthony Montano and Chuck Snipes were the stand back and guide us in the right direction. Their energy and creative ideas helped us when we were stuck and needed to get out of the box. Of course their muscles were much appreciated, sometimes us gals can't quite lift some of those heavy items or reach that spot a little to tall for us.

We were also able to go to the donation shopping Center area where the clients can shop for free. We picked up a few items to use in the project as decor, with no cost to us either. A trip to Togos by Anthony for much needed lunch: $22.50... A trip to Home Depot for seisel rope for the table and verathane for the desks by Erin: $55.00... Finding Chucks new favorite hat at the donation center for a good giggle ... priceless! I think Chucks hat was the find of the day, he now has a totally new look!!

Erin Blackburn and Molly McGarvey did the desks, decopeging the tops with vintage pictures from Hawaii, keeping with the tropical theme. Adding bamboo in the middle of the desks for privacy to keep the room open by hanging them with string from the high ceilings (needed Chuck to hang them) We then added the bamboo to the side as a skirt effect to hide the flaws of these VINTAGE desks.

Debbie and Erin Blackburn took the trouble to wrap rope around the chrome legs and the top lip with a hot glue gun, to create a look to go with the theme. An otherwise boring conference table transformed into the ALOHA work space.

Erin's 2 teenage girls, Rachel and Kayla were there to help out where we needed them. So eager to be a part of our team an help make a difference. It is refreshing to see young women appreciating what we were doing and believing in the cause. We were very grateful for their participation.

Debbie painted white wicker chair, table and settee to give it theTommy Bahamas look. With Anthony's pillows and Debbie's patience with spray painting our little waiting area was smashing. Talk about giving time, it was Debbie's 22nd Anniversary and she was eager to return to her husband but stayed until the day was complete.

Phew!! what an event. We ended the day with a ceremony. Each of a took a stone that I collected from the beach. They got to choose their own special one. This represented our Mother Earth and a symbol of the strength we bring to our communities. We prayed for the recovery of Karen's' sister, the victims of 9/11, the recovery of the people of New Orleans who were the victims of the terrible tragedy of Katrina and thanksgiving for Barb and her contribution. I thanked everyone for the hard work and effort to make this a special undertaking.

The End!!

Sending a big hooray to all the Stagers across the Nation who gave so unconditionally on September 17th.

Respectfully submitted,

- Molly McGarvey

Our San Jose Chapter Staged an office space that will be used for 4 caseworkers at InnVision (www.innvision.org), Georgia Travis Center (Women and Children Shelter) in San Jose for our “Annual Community Service Day”. This is where our Staging Association, Internationally, takes one day to give back to our community by Staging a space for those in need.

We only had a plain white room with 4 desks and a black book case to work with. Painters (www.paintingpros.com), Flooring Contractors (www.nationwidefloorsandwindows.com) and our Chapter Stagers donate their time, supplies and energy to make this all happen… the goal and end result : a cheerful, fun and relaxing working environment for these caseworkers who make a difference in hundreds of people’s lives everyday!… Check it out!

- Melanie Terry