MANCHESTER, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leslie Ann Schifferns from Spokane, Washington who nominated the local charity Transitions, was selected as the Grand Prize winner in the inaugural Design for a Difference contest, sponsored by the International Design Guild Designer Program in affiliation with its Spokane showroom, Gina’s Design Center. Transitions provides transitional housing for women and children throughout the Spokane region. Selected from over 120 entries Schifferns’ design was chosen for its design appeal and ability to have a powerful and positive impact on the winning charity.
Design for a Difference offers design professionals and students from the U.S. and Canada the opportunity to win $20,000 in goods and services to makeover a space for their favorite charity. Four regional winners were also selected and will receive $2,500 in flooring from their local International Design Guild showroom as well as the opportunity to participate in the national makeover.
The regional winners are:
- The Northeast region winner, Tyler Wisler, of South Orange, NJ nominated the charity, Hetrick-Martin Institute and is affiliated with Designer’s North Carpet of Albertson, NY.
- The South-Central region winner, Deanne Whetstone, of Brownsburg, IN who nominated the Dalton Food Pantry and is affiliated with Blakley’s Flooring of Indianapolis.
- The Midwest region winner, Lisa Schmitz of Kansas City, MO who nominated Horsepower Kids and is affiliated with Madden-McFarland Interiors of Leawood, KS.
- The West region winner, Vivian Dowsett of Salt Lake City, UT who nominated Utah Health & Human Rights and is affiliated with Foremost Interiors of Salt Lake City.
Design for a Difference launched in February and celebrates the talents of designers while bringing awareness to the needs of local nonprofits. As contest spokesperson, Mark Brunetz explains, “All too often charity spaces suffer from neglect because the majority of monies they raise are put towards providing services to their causes, leaving little for aesthetics which can have a powerful impact on the human spirit.”
The ability to impact and change lives through design was never more clear than in the contest entry of Shay Tucker of Salt Lake City, Utah. Tucker nominated a Make a Wish room for a cancer-stricken eleven year old girl who dreamed of having a Tinkerbelle-inspired bedroom. A month after she filed her entry, Tucker withdrew from the contest explaining that she couldn’t wait any longer and “just had to do something to help this young girl.” “We were so moved by Shay’s story, we documented it within the Design for a Difference winner announcement video in hopes that it will inspire other designers to give of their talents to their favorite charities,” Brunetz added. The winner announcement is available at www.IDGcontest.com.
The grand prize makeover will take place this fall and be produced into a video short documenting the process and impact of the design on the lives of the residents of the winning charity. The 2014 Design for a Difference contest will launch on January 27, 2014. Interested designers can get more information at www.idgdesigner.com.
About IDG DESIGNER PROGRAM
The International Design Guild is the only luxury flooring alliance in the country. Our showrooms have carefully curated partnerships with some of the most talented and visionary designers around the globe. At IDG, we support these valued relationships through our Designer Program that engages and promotes the work of our designer members.
