Students from the School of Art and Design at NJIT's College of Architecture and Design (COAD) recently spent a Saturday designing, building, and helping a family in need in Mahwah.   They participated in the Dream Room Makeover http://www.dreamroommakeovers.org/  Chapter President Nora Hamadé, Sparta, led the effort, the second one this academic year in which NJIT students volunteered.

“It speaks well of this generation that they want to spend their time helping others  who are less fortunate and have found a way to marry their expertise and interest getting experience and doing good for others. This event gives the students a visceral understanding of what it takes to actually build and implement a design, and how it can positively affect the lives of others,” said NJIT Professor Glenn Goldman.  Goldman is the director of COAD’s School of Art and Design and director of the Imaging Lab.  For more information about COAD and programs available there, please visit http://design.njit.edu/.

The volunteer students painted the family room and upstairs hallway, embellished Mary's headboard with rhinestones/play jewels, constructed and painted a dry-erase board table for the basement play area, assembled furniture, refurbished tables by sanding and staining them, framed the girls' artwork, and designed and determined the optimal plan for the family room.   The volunteers didn’t make over just one room, but actually worked on the entire house.

"My favorite moment was when we heard Mary scream 'Oh my God!' when she entered her new room," said Hamadé.

Other NJIT participants included Gerardy Cabreara, Newark; Wendy Ceron, Belleville; Eman Elkwisny, Jersey City;  Liliette Graca, Plainfield; Anita Graham, Mullica Hill;  Matt Negron, Union; Tristan Pashalian, Avon by the Sea; Jessica Uhlik, Clifton;  Nicole Zampolin, River Vale.