Carribean Pink - Redecorating for a Cause

I absoloutly adore, and admire people who go above and beyond to give back to society; there truly are some amazing and inspiring people out there. Today I welcome one of these such people back to my blog; a warm hello to Natasha. Natasha has formulated a dream, to start a non for profit organisation that endeavours to refurbish, redecorate and modify the rooms of people who are chronically sick, so that they have a safe heaven where they feel content - as many of these people are homebound, if not even room bound, due to their illnesses. I won't give too much more away. Read on to hear all about Natasha's vision.

The Dream

I have always enjoyed, and been good at, rearranging spaces/rooms to make them more comfortable and beautiful. I also have a passion for helping people, seem to have a bit of a gift for counselling, and have achieved qualifications in youth work and community work, along with a Bachelor of Theology in which I trained in pastoral care.

Since becoming sick with a chronic illness myself (see Tash's story here), I have come to understand how, when someone is stuck in bed for a lot of the time, and for a long time, it can get very boring and depressive. Something as simple as adding something new to the room or changing a few things around in the bedroom, can bring so much joy. But those who are sick so often do not have the ability to do this for themselves, and those who care for them, even if they have a knack with interior design, are unlikely to have the time, energy, mental space, or finances to be able to do much in this respect.

On May 27, 2013 I had an idea. I imagined how wonderful it would be to either create a new charity, or even better, join with an existing charity to create a new branch or project, with the purpose of using interior design to brighten up the lives of seriously ill people who are mostly bed bound or housebound. We would rearrange, organize and beautify one room of the house, probably the bedroom most often, but it would be the recipient's choice, to help bring some joy into the lives of people with serious, long-term illness.

 

What’s in a name?

How did I come up with the name Caribbean Pink?

Quote from the film, ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ (2008) Lily Owens: If your favorite color is blue, why did you paint the house pink? August Boatwright: [chuckles] That was May's doing. When we went to the paint shop, she latched on to a color called, "Caribbean Pink." She said it made her feel like dancing a Spanish Flamenco. I personally thought it was the tackiest color I had ever seen, but I figured if it could lift May's heart, it was good enough to live in. Lily Owens: That was awfully nice of you. August Boatwright: Well, I don't know. Some things in life, like the color of a house, don't really matter. But lifting someone's heart? Now, that matters.'

Can you help make this dream a reality?

In order for this dream to become a reality, I am going to need a lot of help. It will take a team of wonderful people for this service to happen. Some of the roles that the service will need volunteers to cover include:

* Designers/organisers/room refreshers (no qualification needed, just an eye for creating beautiful spaces)

* Shoppers

* Marketing/sales people to advertise the service and negotiate agreements with businesses, such as homewares stores.

* ‘Muscle’ for moving furniture

* Crafty/handy people – to up-cycle &/or modify furniture, hemming curtains etc.

* Administrative person/s to prepare application forms, prepare newsletters for supporters etc.

And, of course, nothing will happen without finances.

If you live in Melbourne, Australia and would be interested in finding out more about being part of this project, or if you would like to contribute financially and live anywhere in the world, please let me know by emailing me at: caribbeanpink.natasha@gmail.com

If you are from another state or country, I would still love to hear from you! You can always email me and I can sort out the best way for your donations to arrive safely in Melbourne, and can always chat via Skype if you want a role in the organisation!

 

Much love,

Natasha.