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Anchorage, AK – Like an episode from one of the popular home design shows on HGTV, a Salvation Army teen treatment center in Anchorage has undergone an amazing transformation, thanks to local designers, contractors and volunteers who donated over $30,000 in labor and materials to transform seven rooms in the facility. A celebration to unveil the completed rooms is set for Thursday, January 26, from 4:30 – 6:00 pm, at The Salvation Army Booth Memorial Youth & Family Services located at 3600 East 20th Avenue.
The project, which started with a “design on a dime” concept, quickly grew from a few volunteers signing up to put on a fresh coat of paint, new linens and window treatments in the rooms to more than 70 volunteers, donating close to 900 hours of labor and thousands of dollars of materials to complete seven beautiful, custom designed bedrooms. Room sponsors include: RIM Design/RIM First People, the Anchorage Zonta Club, CH2MHill, American Society of Interior Designers, Carter Financial Group, Medical Park Family Care and the Lasswell Family. The project took about 2 months to complete and included new carpet and electrical upgrades.
For The Salvation Army, this project is far more significant than the remodeling of the rooms that took place. “If you could know the very difficult and often abusive situations that results in girls coming to our program, you would understand they’ve not likely seen such spontaneous generosity and kindness being shown to them,” says Tom Nottle, interim director of the program. “This is one of those life transforming experiences, which they’ll likely remember for a long time.”
The Salvation Army Booth Memorial Youth & Family Services, which opened in 1960, is a residential treatment program for adolescent girls in crisis, ages 12-18. The program, which receives teens from all regions of Alaska, is designed to allow them the chance to succeed — sometimes for the first time in their lives– by providing therapeutic intervention, support and structure necessary for each resident to be successful.
