Joshua is a 15-year-old diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. He applied for an Art From the Heart room makeover in March of 2020— but shortly after, COVID-19 safety restrictions required Circle of Care to pause the program. Once restrictions started to ease, COC was able to follow through on delivering his new room.

As an artist himself, Joshua wanted to create an artist’s oasis that would inspire his inner creativity. Working closely with Karen Morgenbesser, the founder of the Art from the Heart program, they together designed a room that would satisfy needs as both a student and an artist. Joshua’s room makeover team consisted of Karen, Amy Gonch (long-time AFTH leader), and COC’s board and staff members. The team followed a monochromatic theme for Joshua’s room so that he could fill the room with color using his own artwork. At the reveal of his new room, Joshua’s dad said, “I can say with confidence that Joshua will remember this makeover for the rest of his life. We are extremely thankful to God and to all the caring people that have come into Joshua’s life on his journey to recovery. We feel truly blessed.”

Eleven members of our board and staff came together over two days to paint the walls and build furniture. The black and white room design included a loft bed complete with LED lights hovering over a desk space and storage underneath. In the light-filled corner of the room between two windows, a drafting table was stocked with artist supplies to encourage Joshua’s own creativity. The final touches included several canvases from Joshua’s personal collection. Despite the early morning threat of rain, the weather held out, and the room reveal occurred without a hitch!