aTeam Ministries Apartment: Kids’ Bedroom Reveal

Several weeks ago we introduced to you our partnership with aTeam Ministries. aTeam is a ministry in Birmingham, Alabama, that meets the needs of families going through pediatric cancer. It was founded by our friends Jan and Andy Thrower after their son Anderson’s journey through leukemia. Anderson is now a vibrant, healthy six-year-old, and the Throwers are uniquely experienced to understand what pediatric cancer families need most. They provide financial, mental, and spiritual support for families in the way of weekly prayer meeting for the families, fun sports days so kids can forget about cancer for a day, and money/gift cards to help pay medical and travel expenses.

One of the largest expenses of pediatric cancer families, besides the medical expenses, is the cost of lodging if families have to travel for treatment. We are blessed to have Children’s Hospital here in Birmingham that serves children all over our state, but many families have to travel here from out of town. aTeam Ministries provides a place for these families to stay while their children are undergoing treatment. The apartment is close to the downtown medical complex, and it is clean, new(ish), and beautifully built. In addition, aTeam has been generously gifted with several very nice pieces of furniture. This gave us a terrific canvas from which to work. The Hill Hangout has been so privileged to be able to help furnish and decorate the new apartment. Having such good materials to work with made my job a lot easier! Are you ready to see it?

Let’s start with the kids’ bedroom. Here is what we had to work with:

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It is a great space with plenty of light. The carpet and paint are a nice neutral color, and the wood blinds are in great shape. Like I said, it is a great canvas to work with. I knew we wanted to add color and brighten the space up a bit. We wanted a happy, fun space that kids would enjoy when they stayed here. We created a mood board for the space using items we found to work with.

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We had so many individual and corporate sponsors who donated exactly what we needed for the apartment. God’s people are generous, and when we asked for items, we had people step up and donate money or goods. It is all because of them that we were able to put together a room like this…

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The bedding was a very generous gift from Wayfair.com. Wayfair gave us $250 to spend on the apartment, and we were able to purchase two sets of bedding for the children’s bedroom.

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Because many of the children have no immune system due to their treatment, we must be able to wash and sanitize everything in the apartment. Having two sets of bedding allows us to use one while washing the other. This allows aTeam to quickly get the apartment ready for the next family once a family leaves. And if there is any doubt about how much demand there is for these apartments, we had people move into this one before we even had it completely finished. The need is great! So many, many thanks to Wayfair.com for their generosity on this project!

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The bed was a thrift store project, as was the green dresser.

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When working on a project for a charity, I try to keep the expenses as low as possible. After all, isn’t the ministry’s money better spent on the patient families? One way to make your money stretch further is to find what you want and ask people to donate it. I had an overall vision for what we wanted in this space, and when I asked people to sponsor it, they stepped up. One family gave these fabulous metal barn stars, and they are PERFECT in the space.

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When I saw this reclaimed wood star on a trading site, I messaged the artist and asked him if he would consider donating it for our project. It was risky, because I’ve asked people before and they weren’t so kind. However, the gracious gentleman that makes these turned out to be a pastor who willingly gave these when I told him about aTeam and what they are about. The star lights up and can be used as a nightlight. How cute is that?!?

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And I’ve already told you all about the fabulous piece of art donated by Red Letter Words. It hangs right beside the bed so that the kids can be reminded each morning and evening that God never leaves them.

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I pray that the children who stay in this room will be healed physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Would you join me in praying for the children going through the pediatric cancer journey. If you’d like more info, please go to aTeamMinistries.org and sign up for their newsletter. And join us tomorrow for the reveal of the next room!!

Comments

  1. Great job! I love the green dresser/mirror and chest of drawers.

  2. I LOVE the room! It looks beautiful! And what a special way to donate items and time to be able to make the families more comfortable during their stay.

    • Ashley Mills Hill says

      Thank you so much, Nadine! This ministry is near and dear to my heart, so I was so happy to be able to help.

  3. I love the colors you used. The touches added to the room definitely made it feel homier. Great pics. 🙂

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