Participants in the 2012 ART conference had the chance to put their unique talents to work helping New Orleans families have a house any of us would be proud to call home. The Accessories Resource Team teamed up with a local non-profit called the Jericho Roads Organization who was already working in the area to provide houses to local families. The ART team stepped in and transformed those houses into beautifully designed, fully-furnished homes.
IMAX’s own Susan Andrulis co-chaired the conference, and to her, all of the hard work was well worth it.
“It’s something that will be with me forever,” said Andrulis. “It was an empty house when we got there, but when we finished, it felt like a place where you could just sit 
down, watch TV and live life. I was able to sit on the front porch with the family that will live there after we were finished. It was a really great moment – one of the proudest moments of my whole life.”
ART volunteers consisted of figures from around the gift and home industry, like Alex Fraser, of Repzio.
“Helping with the home was amazing,” said Fraser. “We had 30 or more type ‘A’ people working their butts off in 90-plus degree weather. It was great to see everybody just dig in. We saw one of the families with two little boys, and they were so excited! One wanted to water the plants in the front of ‘his’ house.”
IMAX reps Michelle Korthuis and Brian Jupina also helped with the project.
“It was a great experience working on the Jericho Road project,” said Jupina. “Michelle and I were both humbled and grateful to participate in such a worthy cause. Just knowing that we made even a small difference in someone’s life is an incredible feeling.”
Conference speakers Barry Dixon (president of the interior design firm Barry Dixon, Inc.), Mike Anderson (The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.) and John Gidding, (host of HGTV’s Curb Appeal: The Block) were also quick to roll up their sleeves and pitch in. Gidding is shown left with Susan Andrulis and Michelle Korthuis.
Click here to learn more about the Accessories Resource Team or here to learn more about Jericho Road.
Here are more photos from the project. You can find even more at the ART facebook page here.
