Showing posts with label Designing Spaces. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Designing Spaces. Show all posts

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Very Important Ducks

Just a few rubber duckies
One of the perks of my job is getting to meet and work with great organizations in the area.  Last summer Designing Spaces did a makeover for Kids In Distress so I got to know and become friends with some of the girls who work there.  Well after they jumped into our project last week where we made over Joy Stewarts home....you can see that story in....
 The Huffington Post    (she says all casual like it wasn't one of the bigger hits of my career)....I got to hang out with them again.


Thats a lot of ducks



So yesterday they had their annual fundraising event the Duck Derby, and luckily for me it happens on the New River right in front of my building!  Just the view alone would have been cool, but the girls at KID put me and my family and a few friends down on the list for their V.I.D. tent.....making us Very Important Ducks!

It was a blast.  Food, drink (the alcoholic kind of course), music, a petting zoo, games and a couple thousand rubber duckies released into the water.  Now while the monkey and the lady bug are still a tad young to appreciate it, its just fun to get outside around other families and enjoy the beautiful South Florida winter day.

The monkey man is pretty mobile these days and climbing stairs is his new favorite thing.  Lucky for us there are several levels of stairs in front of The Broward Center of Performing Arts that he could climb again, and again.....and again.

A few of my snaps from the day.



Follow me Zia - for the 5th time

Well come on.....


Ms. Prim just chilling by the river
Next up today - the Kite Festival at Haulover beach in Miami!  I do like South Florida in the winter.

Friday, February 15, 2013

A Story of Joy

OVER A YEAR!  I have been so busy writing and being a publicist (and photographer) again that I have negelected my own blog in favor of others for work.

Bad Amanda.

So I decided to get back in the groove by sharing my blog post from my company blog.  Its a back story of an incredible makeover Designing Spaces just completed. 




A Story of Joy

It’s a sad story with a happy ending in the making, for Joy Stewart and her grandchildren.  One day in December, Broward County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Edward Ragauskas went to Detective Lisa Sokol for help.  He had found Joy Stewart living in a home with no heat, running water, electricity or food with her four grandchildren.  Grandchildren who had health issues due to being born to a crack addicted mother who had abandoned them in New York.

Detective Sokol and Deputy Ragauskas put out a call for help to their fellow Broward County Sherriff’s Deputies and the word quickly spread.  Food, clothes and toys were donated; money was collected to turn utilities back on.  Huge name national stores such as Wal-Mart, Brand Smart and Home Depot donated things like a water heater, refrigerator, food, clothes and toys. A very Merry Christmas for sure; however the state of the home the family was living in was not fit for habitation and as the holiday spirit of charity started to dwindle, the good deputies of the BSO were at a loss what to do next.

At that time the local branch of the national non-for-profit Rebuilding Together® stepped in and with them they brought the producers of the locally produced national hit home improvement show Designing Spaces™, airing on Lifetime.  After taking one look at the state of Stewart’s family dwelling, the Dream Team at Designing Spaces decided to tackle the single largest makeover they have to date.  With the help of Rebuilding Together, the Broward County Sherriff’s Office and the local emergency shelter Kids In Distress, where Joy’s grandchildren had been housed until she was able to bring them home, Designing Spaces is redoing and furnishing the entire house room by room.

It’s a story that is not over yet; but one that shows the magic that can happen when a community comes together and helps create Joy.

# # #

While I can't take any credit for the photo - which is fine - I can take credit for the press that attended and covered it!!

Check out the following link to see the heartwarming reveal coverage live.
And I promise to start posting more of my work, thoughts and photos once more - for those of you who are interested!

CBS 4 Miami Piece
Sun-Sentinel Florida

Oh yeah I am now a tweeter so TWEET with ME!



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