Imagine being unable to pay funeral expenses for your 6 year old daughter who died from cancer or for a puppy that your 6 year old son with a fatal pontine glioma tumor, who just lost his legs, desperately wants. I worry when my daughter has a few bad nights of sleep. I cannot in any way imagine how I would deal with the stress and pain and worry if one of my children was diagnosed with cancer.
Liz Salguero and Dawn Ladenheim from Wilton had children diagnosed with cancer. Overwhelmed with difficult medical choices and frustrated by a lack of resources, they created Circle of Care, a non-profit organization to help other families who face this crisis. At the beginning, it’s services included “Lifeline” which provides emergency financial assistance to families in need; the “Purple Pages” which is a free, comprehensive directory of national and local pediatric cancer resources; and “Bags of Love” which provides bags filled necessities such as toiletries, toys and phone cards in hospital rooms. Then five years ago a Greenwich mom, Karen Morgenbesser, approached them with a new idea: she wanted to decorate the bedrooms of really sick children to bring a little joy into their lives.
Karen studied illustration at Syracuse University. She also completed the certificate program in Interior Design at Parsons School of Design in New York City. She is a mother of 3 kids: Kimberly (20), Tatum (17) and Kyle, a fifth grader. She is feisty and fun, high energy and a good dancer. She is a go- getter who has designed beaded eye-catchers for glasses, worked for a greeting card company, and run a party design business called Queen Christine Tea Parties. But she always wondered how to use her creative gifts to help others. So when her daughter, Kimberly, approached her for help in finding a community service project, Karen had her “ah ha” moment. With the help of her friend, Maribeth Stolzer, who according to Karen is the organized one, they founded Art for the Heart, now one of the core services provided by Circle of Care, to create these magical bedrooms for children with cancer.
Karen and Maribeth work with the Social Services department via lottery to find a family to help. They meet with the family and talk with the child to try to come up with a theme for their dream bedroom. Karen said that some children have very clear design ideas-one boy loves architecture so they designed his room around an Italian villa; another 4 year old boy loves Sponge Bob so he asked for an underwater theme. When asked if it was scary to talk to sick children Karen said, “No. When we’re talking to them about their bedrooms, they’re not sick kids. They’re just kids.” She added that the kids love the opportunity to think and dream about something other than their ongoing medical procedures, pills, and treatments.
Once they settle on a theme, Karen, Maribeth and a slew of Greenwich High School kids including her daughters, Anne Stolzer who just won a Community Service award two days ago, and Leah Milbauer go to work. Karen, the creative force behind all this, comes up with the design which often involves murals (she draws them herself and has her team paint them in situ), thematically painted furniture, and decorated lampshades. To pay for the room makeovers, they get product donations from local businesses- McDermott Paint here in Greenwich has given a lot of paint and Russell Carpet in Ridgefield has been very generous donating carpets. Art for the Heart has been very lucky lately because Andrew and Deanna Stackpole have offered to pay in full for a room makeover. The high school students also raise money: Anne Stolzer told me that they make and sell bracelets, heart-shaped pillows, and painted canvases; sit at donation tables at soccer games; host bake sales. They also paint the furniture built by Karen’s uncle, Richard Glenn, a Danbury-based carpenter. Everything is stored at Karen’s house until its time for the installation which normally takes place over a weekend. Karen and her crew keep the room blocked off until the installation is complete. The surprise factor when the family enters the room is one reason they keep doing these makeovers. Says Karen, “The reaction of each and everyone is why you go on to another room! The 4 year old boy who got a Sponge bob room threw his arms around all the girls. Each child is so grateful in there own way!”
There is an event to celebrate the wonderful work of Art from the Heart and Circle of Care this Friday April 30 from 7-9pm at Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams, 45 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich. The event is free. There will be wine (generously donated by Castle Wine and Liquor and hors d’hoevres by Garden Catering. Please R.S.V.P. as soon as possible to: artfromtheheart2010@gmail.com
If you are interested in donating product or perhaps underwriting the cost to decorate a room, please contact Karen Morgenbesser at: kegmorg@aol
For more information, please please visit the website: www.thecircleofcare.org
