2022 www.providence.org/themountfoundation
A COVID Bright Spot Gracious Volunteers Lead Remodeling Efforts of Emilie’s Treasures You’ve heard the adage: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” That’s exactly what some enthusiastic and determined volunteers did when faced with the adversity of Emilie’s Treasures Thrift shop being closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
the new design. In addition to the new layout, the space also received a fresh coat of paint and new merchandising equipment.
Remodeling a store is challenging when time, resources and money are limited. That didn’t stop a group of highly innovative Emilie’s volunteers, led by Mike and Bonnie Cervino, from recognizing the window of opportunity the COVID closure provided them to accomplish a long-standing goal of giving the shop a makeover.
A generous donor stepped forward to fund the renovation when they learned of the effort taking place. The combination of generous donations, willing and enthusiastic volunteers, and a can-do attitude all combined to create a lovely, refreshed space for residents, caregivers and guests to find just the right treasure at Emilie’s. Stop by the next time you’re at The Mount and see the space for yourself — you might even find a treasure that you can’t live without.
Without formal funding for the project, and with no ability to make structural changes within the space, Mike and Bonnie formulated a vision with input from other long standing volunteers and went to work. They reached out to their niece, Jennifer Chapman, who happens to be an architect and offered pro-bono services, to come up with an updated layout for the shop. She captured the new vision for the shop in a technical layout and the volunteer team approved
Architect Jennifer Chapman captures the vision and creates drawings for the new and improved Emilie’s Treasure’s layout.
Mount Administrator, Charlene Boyd, enjoys showing residents Mary McGrath and Sharon Michaelson some new-found treasures.