Meet Princess Sophia the First
Meet Princess Sophia, a special little girl with a beautiful smile who loves to laugh, especially when her two older sisters (Jennifer & Amanda) dedicate their time to play peek-a-boo with her!
Sophia has an extremely rare diagnosis of Pallister Killian Syndrome. This developmental disorder affects many parts of the body. The condition is characterized by extremely weak muscle tone (hypotonia) in infancy and early childhood, intellectual disability, and can interfere with motor skills, like sitting, standing and walking. While Sophia has extensive special needs, she is blessed to have an extensive family that loves to dote and care for her around the clock. When they look into sweet Sophia's eyes they see her heart - not her disabilities. Sophia lives with her mother, Veronica, Father, grandmother, and older sister. Veronica dedicates her heart and soul to care for her family, and it is not an easy job. It is because of Veronica's tireless advocacy and commitment to doing her very best for Sophia that she was nominated by for a room makeover by Cecily's Closet. Sophia loves purple so the team transformed her room into a Princess Sophia the First room! This Disney inspired room features a beautiful purple backdrop[ with plenty of Disney princess elements, the perfect fit for their lovely daughter, Sophia! The design team incorporated fun elements and therapy based elements to help Sophia achieve her developmental milestones. The custom sensory board with music, various things to touch and move, was built to help engage Sophia and improve her fine motor skills - while also providing a fun board to play with! Sophia loves her blanky and rubs it for comfort. She likes to play with her iPad, be tickled and play social games with the people who are special to her! And Sophia is surrounded by so much love - not just from her family but from the various agencies that provide support to her family. Her low muscle tone make it difficult for her family to carry and position her. As such, her amazing OT, Mary Pat, and PT, Amy, from the HOPE Infant Program is helping the family to obtain a Sleep Safe Bed, a stander, a wheelchair, and a Hoyer lift. This valuable pieces of medical equipment will significantly improve the quality of not only Sophia's life, but her caring support team at home, too. Thank you to our amazing crew for pulling of two rooms for this lovely family. Thank you to PaintGreen for taking two-days to transform these rooms. Paint makes such a difference and once again the team went above and beyond to provide the perfect canvas for our makeover. Thank you Mattress Company Direct for being our go-to furniture provider. The family's bedroom set is beautiful and we appreciate all the assistance you provide our Project Leads to ensure the right furniture is selected to meet each family's needs. Thank you to our devoted artist, Emily Dolton of Inside Emily Dolton's Head. We've lost track of how many projects she's donated her time and talent for! Not only is the art beautiful, it is functional and will aid Sophia on her journey to achieve her developmental milestones. And thank you to Christina for once again stepping up to Project Manage another room makeover for Cecily's Closet. And of course, thank you to TVIA for helping us complete our 59th and 60th room makeover. |
Teen Volunteers in Action (TVIA)
Thank you to Teen Volunteers in Action (TVIA) for helping us transform another space for children with special needs in San Diego! We absolutely love working with this wonderful organization and we couldn't be happier about this group of teen boys who donated their time to help us achieve not one, but two-makeovers!
These teens were immediately set to work - unloading the van, assembling a pop-up tent (it was a hot one in San Diego) and working on the art for Sophia and her Mom and Dad's room. As usual, the teens assigned to our project were well mannered, hard-working and dedicated to whatever art or craft task we presented them with! The following weekend another crew of teens (except for one lovely repeat volunteer!) joined us at the family home to complete the install. The teens rolled up their sleeves and assembled closet organizers, made beds, decorated cribs and hung wall-art. It was wonderful to have so much help to make this room truly "picture" perfect! Thank you to TVIA for generously donating their time and talent AND for the very generous donations, which helped us go above and beyond for this family. The funds provided enabled us to not only create a beautiful space, but we created an area to help Sophia achieve her developmental goals with the creation of a sensory board AND a ladder. Teen Volunteers in Action is an organization of young men who, together with their families, participate in structured programs of volunteerism, philanthropy and personal development. TVIA believe that through volunteer projects like Cecily's Closet, these young men will grow up to become strong community leaders. Volunteers are the heart and soul of our operation. We have more than 200 people across the community who donate their time and talent to make a difference for kiddos with special needs in San Diego! Thank you for your dedication, passion and commitment and for making this Sweet Dream Makeover possible for Sophia and her beautiful family.
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