29 November 2016

#25Project Transformation 5: Iowa, USA!

The smiling faces of all of the lovely volunteers! 
We're now a fifth of the way through the #25Project with transformation number 5, Muscatine Centre for Social Action (or MCSA)in Iowa, USA, now complete!

The wonderful work of MCSA instantly caught my attention during the nomination period for the #25Project. The centre provides emergency and temporary housing, healthcare, education and support services to local people in need, and is incredibly important to the community. I think that the wonderful turnout of 40 local people volunteering their time and services to the transformation is evidence of this!

The users and workers at this former YMCA chose to focus on transforming the family room – a room that hadn't been updated in over 20 years. I recently found out that the family suites and common area of MCSA were formerly a swimming pool, and that a generous donation from Phil Collins (yes, THAT Phil Collins) funded the cost of building a floor!

The before of MCSA
A huge thank you goes out to the lovely mother and daughter team of Cindy Tubandt and Jennifer Conard, who run Fresh Vintage in Muscatine, for organising and leading the whole transformation. They held workshops to teach volunteers how to use Chalk Paint® to paint chairs (that had been kindly donated by a local restaurant) and to dye pillows and curtains using the Shibori technique. The turnout from volunteers was so great that they managed to get the transformation complete in just the one weekend!

A shibori dyeing workshop


I love what a successful local project this has turned out to be. As soon as people heard that this transformation was taking place, more and more companies started to generously donate. From financial support to food supplies to electrical work, the whole space is now complete. It looks warm, inviting, playful and fun – a safe place of support. Well done to every single person involved in this project, it has been such a joy to see the photos of the space come in and I love this video that a local school created for the transformation too!

The painted chairs, don't they look sweet? 



Yours,

Annie

1 comment:

  1. Thank you Annie Sloan for selecting Muscatine Center for Social Action as one of the 25 spaces selected in the #25project. We absolutely love the renewed space, it is beautiful and your stockists at Fresh Vintage were amazing to work with. Our hope is that those living in our family shelter will have a little extra spring in their step when they realize the community support (both locally and abroad) that went into creating this warm, welcoming space for them. Thank you from everyone at Muscatine Center for Social Action

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