06/14/2013
A CASTLE FIT FOR A QUEEN
Drops of Hope Remodels a Dilapidated, Cramped Quarter into a
Princess-Inspired Room for a Pediatric Cancer Patient
MARGATE, FL (June 8, 2013) – Drops of Hope made a special dream come true for a pediatric cancer patient. Naomi is a 3-year-old girl battling Wilm’s Tumor, a type of cancer primarily found in young children that occurs when certain cells in one or both kidneys multiply uncontrollably, growing into a cancerous mass. Naomi underwent extensive surgery and endured six months of radiation and chemotherapy.
Since Naomi’s diagnosis in 2012, she refused to sleep in her room alone and spent many sleepless nights in her parent’s bed. With the support of more than $5,000 worth of in-kind donations from Incapital, Rooms to Go, Fathead, Monster, Home Depot, Tamara Roth from Kreative Makeovers, Photographs by Jonathan Stein, a team of 20 volunteers renovated Naomi’s small, cramped bedroom into a palatial palace fit for a princess. The team remodeled the bare and uninviting space with old and worn furniture into a safe, clean and tranquil environment where Naomi can rest and relax.
Michael Fischer, Executive Director of Drops of Hope, spends his days chauffeuring terminally ill children from low-to-no income families to their doctors’ appointments. He observed that many of these sick children share meager living conditions with siblings, often cramped three to a room or they sleep on the living room floor. It gave him the idea to launch “Rooms of Hope”, a campaign that unites corporate sponsors with a team of volunteers to transform sick children’s spaces into the bedrooms of their dreams while they are away at the hospital.
“We create personal spaces based on each child's imagination and unique interests using hand painted wall murals, custom furniture and creative accessories to change bedrooms into fantasy lands,” said Fischer. “Each room makeover costs about $4,500 and we have a waiting list of more than 75 pediatric cancer patients in need. As a non-profit, we rely on cash and in-kind donations from corporations to make these dreams come true. It’s a small price to pay for granting kids battling a life threatening disease the opportunity to forget, if only for a moment, their pain and suffering and revel in the joy of just simply being a child.”
