GIVING BACK: HOW TO “MAKE-A-WISH” COME TRUE
Most remodeling projects begin with homeowners dreaming of everything they could wish for to make a room perfect for their lifestyle. But what if your dream wasn’t one of luxury or convenience, but rather a wish to brighten the life of a child with mitochondrial disease, a rare, life-threatening, genetic disorder?
This wish is what brought together Chris Repp, president of Repp Construction, and Annie, a young girl who, because of her condition, has to stay home and simply wanted a place where she, her sisters, and friends could play together.
Mitochondrial disease slowly deprives a body’s systems the energy needed to thrive. In Annie’s case, her vision, hearing, mobility and health are compromised and gradually getting worse.
As a result she has limited ability to go out and needed a safe, controlled place to play. Annie wanted the unfinished basement to be this place. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Chris Repp, along with several other service providers, donated their time, resources, and talents to make it happen.
Annie loves the Buffalo Sabres and doing crafts with her family. When she’s in the hospital, she plays air hockey with her dad. She also collects Sabres paraphernalia. So the playroom’s theme? Ice hockey!
Repp divided the L-shaped room into three distinct play areas: crafts, television, and an air hockey table inside an “ice rink.” The TV area offers space to lounge and accommodate sleepovers. The craft area has locker room-style storage. The room’s excitement comes from the air hockey rink, which is complete with safety glass walls on a penalty box and an expansive crowd mural donated by Trace George of VSP Graphics. Lifesize images of Sabres’ stars Ryan Miller and Patrick Kaleta inside the rink complete the look. Autographed hockey sticks and jerseys provide engaging details.
More than just design, this basement accommodates critical safety features such as rounded corners in the hockey rink. “Today Annie is enjoying having a place where her friends want to be and she gets a chance to enjoy the normal things in life,” says Repp. He adds thoughtfully, “She’s an amazing girl. I can’t convey how good it feels to bring happiness to her and her family.”