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charity. But the American Society of
Interior Designer's Connecticut Chapter was given
such an opportunity not long ago by Covenant to
Care in Bloomfield, CT, an organization that
provides for the emotional and physical needs of
the state's abused and neglected children.
In 2003, Alex Lenox,
the acting president of the Connecticut ASID
chapter, asked Laura Bordeaux, ASID, of FX Design
Inc, in Glastonbury, CT, to chair the chapter's
community service project. Bordeaux had personal
knowledge of the charity because she had mentored
a teenage mother through the agency. ASID wanted
to help create a better environment for the agency
that does their best to provide for others.
Bordeaux was told that the charity needed help
with their office organization and layout. Two
additional designers, Diane Pritt, ASID and Donna
Auclair of Jung Brannen Associates in Farmington,
CT, volunteered to become committee members.
Although the former Catholic convent building was
once impressive, the CTC offices were reminiscent
of 1950's and 1960's government issued furniture,
and there were bags of donated children's clothes
scattered in the reception area. The design team
determined to approach this pro bono project just
like any other commercial interior redesign,
requiring all new finishes and furniture.
Pritt and Auclair scheduled the programming
meetings with the staff of Covenant to Care to
determine their functional needs. The first
objective discussed was how to create an inviting
reception area that would reflect what Covenant to
Care was all about. Instead of walking into an
entry full of donated goods, the team came up with
the concept of utilizing the University of New
Haven Art and Design students to create original
works of art that would depict multi ethnic woman
and children. John Arabolos, ASID of Arabolos
Design in New Haven, CT volunteered to head up the
students' art project. Pritt and Auclair then
designed a curvilinear wall as a focal point in
the reception area. Local Wolf Gordon
representative Christine Galanopoulos donated
beautiful navy ultra-suede wallcovering for the
curved wall which would create the perfect
background for the artwork, as well as a dramatic
entry. By adding glass block donated from Bruce
Hollis in the entry, light would be allowed to
flood through above the curved wall.
The next priority was creating as much storage
space as possible to accommodate all the donated
goods such as baby monitors, bottles and clothes.
Pritt and Auclair redesigned the space and created
over storage and cabinet storage in every possible
location. Laurie Riddile from Atlantic Plywood
Corp. donated all the Nevamar laminate that was
used for the new counter tops. The team then
looked at reducing the size of the conference
room, which was previously used as a "catch all"
for donated goods and mentor meetings. By
downsizing the conference room, they were able to
carve out an additional office for the mentor
coordinator. This new office was imperative to
lend an element of privacy for meetings with
mentors who are assigned to teenagers or teenage
mothers to be.
The team's next challenge was to raise funds and
solicit donations of goods and labor to complete
the new space. The first manufacturer to step up
and donate products was carpet representative Fury
Sabato from Bentley Prince Street, Inc. Following
Bentley, President Paul Prevenou of PAC Group LLC
General Contractors, located in Harwington, CT,
agreed to provide construction management services
at no charge. Mannington Flooring donated flooring
as well as vinyl base, and The Home Depot in
Bloomfield donated $2,500.00 in gift cards, while
going the extra mile to meet Bordeaux at the job
site one Saturday to donate and deliver additional
building material. She asked W.A. Crosscup owner
Ray Poulton to donate paint and wallcovering labor
for the project. When his son Ian Poulton heard
about the project from his father, he asked ASID
if he could coordinate painting, while utilizing
boy scouts for the labor in an effort to earn his
Eagle Scout badge.
While the office space is only approximately 2000
sq. ft. the pro bono project has taken until the
summer of 2005 to near completion. A special
thanks to Covenant to Care's Landlord Mitchel
Wurmbrand who allowed Covenant to Care to use
swing space in his building at no cost to the
charity for over two years. Fortunately Covenant
to Care also received financial gifts from
trustees of the Covenant to Care Board to offset
some of the unforeseen expenses.
After two years the offices are 85 percent
complete. The staff moved in on August 8, 2005.
Prior to their move-in, Maggie Cole, ASID Industry
Partner donated her services to photograph the new
space. The transition from Covenant to Care's
previously unorganized space to their new
well-designed offices with all new furniture
should provide a great moral boost as well as
create a much more efficient work force. ASID
trusts that all their diligent perseverance has
created a unique and highly productive environment
in which Covenant to Care can continue their
tireless efforts to change and improve the lives
of thousands of needy children in Connecticut. | |
