Critically ill kids get room makeovers through nonprofit - Room For Joy!
Read Some GREAT Success Stories that came out of the beautiful work that Room For Joy did for these children.
STORY OF JACK SCHROOTEN
DIANNA M. NANEZ The Arizona Republic
PHOENIX - Jack Schrooten is 9, and for the majority of his precious boyhood, a battle with muscular dystrophy has kept him confined to his bed and unable to communicate.
There are no video games for his mother to nag him to quit playing because he cannot use his hands, no scolding for running in the house because he cannot use his legs, and he is never told to keep his voice down because he cannot speak.
Jack's mom, Ann Schrooten of Chandler, said it breaks her heart to watch her son lie in bed day after day.
So when she read about a nonprofit organization called Room For Joy, which transforms bedrooms of chronically ill children into havens, she contacted the organization's founder Tory Smock.
"His life is in that room. His teachers and therapists come to him. We don't take him outside much in the winter because if he gets sick he has to be hospitalized, and in the summer it's too hot for him," Schrooten said. "I wanted him to have more to look at than television and the walls."
Smock said she generally accepts referrals for children only from Phoenix Children's Hospital, but after corresponding with Ann, Smock said she was convinced Jack needed more than four walls to stare at.
"I felt it was the right thing to do. That room is literally his world," Smock said.
Ann had asked for a jungle or rain forest with lights and sounds because Jack's therapists have told her that although Jack cannot speak, his brain is functional and he would benefit from more sensory stimulation.
Smock put her interior-design skills to work. And while a group of volunteers went to work for two days last week to transform Jack's room, the Schrootens were treated to a two-night hotel stay with entertainment and food for Ann, her husband, Mark, and Jack and his three siblings.
The accommodations and activities were paid for through the nonprofit.
"I don't want the family to have to worry about anything. When they get back we unveil their room," she said.
On Dec. 9, when the Schrootens walked through the door of Jack's bedroom, they were greeted by flashes of lightning and crashing thunder. Tropical parrots rested on thick vines, shades of green woven along the walls and a baby blue sky enveloped them from above.
"It was like a big hug," Ann said. "Since he's been home he looks around the room. I know he sees the difference."
Smock said Room For Joy is just getting off the ground. She works full time as an interior decorator and spends her spare time raising funds to do more children's rooms and spreading the word about her organization.
"Everybody has a purpose on this Earth. You're supposed to use your God-given talents to do for others," she said. "When I see the faces of the families and kids, I know I'm doing what I'm meant to do.
"I saw Jack smile when he went into his room. He actually smiled, it was incredible. I felt blessed."
Room For Joy has transformed nine rooms. One little girl got a Tinker Bell design, another girl asked for Neopets and one little boy wanted Spider-Man.
Smock said the waiting list from Phoenix Children's Hospital is long.
HELP THEM OUT! IF YOU HAVE ANY KIND OF TALENTS, THEY ALWAYS NEED VOLUNTEERS TO MAKE THESE DREAM ROOMS COME TRUE. YOU CAN ALSO DONATE TOWARDS THE FUNDING OF THESE ROOMS.
A Room For Joy dream bedroom costs between $3500 and $5000. Don't let those numbers intimidate you, any donation large or small is appreciated.
YOU WON'T REGRET IT....THERE IS NO GREATER GIFT THAN THE GIFT OF GIVING, ESPECIALLY TO THESE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN WITH TERMINAL ILLNESS, BE A PART OF MAKING THERE LAST DAYS THE BEST THEY CAN BE....
Thank you for helping us to make more dreams come true!!
GOD WILL BLESS YOU! WE REAP WHAT WE SOW! NO BETTER PLACE TO SOW THAN IN THE HEART OF A CHILD!
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