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The Spirit
Supporting the Spirit Foundation
is the brainchild of interior designer Susan Fredman, whose pro bono work with a variety of
nonprofit clients led her to consider ways of involving more designers and suppliers in
charitable service.
"The need is extraordinary," Fredman says, "and the solution
is so simple. Within the design industry, there are enormous talents, and enormous
resources available. There are problems we can uniquely solve - and so we should.
Through Supporting the Spirit Foundation we can give a child a book as well as a place
to read it.
We can produce an environment for a person to feel like a survivor, rather than a
victim. For Supporting the Spirit Foundation,
RENOVATION TRULY DOES MEAN
RENEWAL."
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Mission Statement
Supporting the Spirit Foundation is
a nonprofit organization providing pro bono design services and donated materials that will
enhance the environments of nonprofits such as child care facilities, assisted living centers and
shelters for survivors of domestic violence.
History And Rationale
For over 18 years the founder of this foundation, Susan Fredman of Susan Fredman & Associates, has
performed pro bono work designing shelters, hospices and childcare facilities. Research has
proven how our environments influence and shape our behavior, sense of well-being, and even our
capacity to heal or work more productively. However, the limited budgets of most nonprofits
often result in austere or even depressing environments which are at odds with enhancing well-being.
Redesigned workspaces and donated or recycled materials can re-energize staff and
replenish the human spirit of those who use these spaces. In turn, the nonprofit agency has a
better opportunity to nurture its community, improve its productivity, enhance the quality of care
delivered, and model to the community the belief that all members of society are equally entitled
to comfort of the human spirit.
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