Designer, volunteers create special ‘Rooms from the Heart’ for local terminally ill children

Editor’s Note: This is an occasional series featuring conversations with leaders of area nonprofit organizations that provide a variety of services and support to many in the community.

Rooms from the Heart is a nonprofit organization that redecorates rooms to make them special for terminally ill children. The all volunteer group was founded in 2007 by Ann Mosley, an interior designer.

The Telegraph spoke with Mosley and her executive board about their work.

Q: How would you describe what your organization does to help the community?

We mostly redecorate rooms for critically ill children. That’s our (primary) purpose. We try to do 8-10 rooms a year. But we also get the community involved in a lot of different ways.

As part of the redecorating projects, we plan a day of fun for the family. We go in and spend one day redecorating the (child’s) room, while the family goes out for a day of fun. When the family comes back, the room is finished and there’s also a home cooked meal waiting for them.

Q: How long has the group been serving the community and how many people work and volunteer there?

(We began) in 2007. We’re 100% volunteer-based. We have no paid employees. We 100% rely on the community. If it weren’t for the community support and the businesses, we wouldn’t exist.

Q: What is the newest or most unique program or service that you provide?

The Fairy Tale Ball was an event that we did each year. We offered a fun night for the children and auctioned off donated items from businesses around town. The last Fairy Tale Ball was this past February. We won’t be doing it this year with our restructuring. We are still working out what we will do for a fundraiser moving forward.

Q: Do you have an annual event or special community activity that our readers should know about?

Schools have fundraisers for us. One school did a contest (to see who) could do the prettiest kid’s bedroom and they donated items to us.

We’ve had a lot of involvement from church groups, book clubs, and even Mercer (University) students. A lot of different work groups and businesses offer to volunteer and pitch in where they can with the rooms.

For more information about Rooms from the Heart and how to help their organization please visit their website and Facebook.

This story was originally published September 24, 2019 at 1:03 PM.