Dream Big

There are average days, and then there are days you will always remember. I like days I will always remember, and I do my best to have a lot of them.

Cinco de Mayo 2011 is a day I will always remember. It was on that day that I had a meeting with two amazing couples: Jerry and Carol Meek of Desert Star Construction, and Mark and Chrissy Donnelly, local authors and philanthropists. Though the date is easy to remember, the vision and determination these people shared caught my attention more than anything has in recent years.

They brought to my attention that Phoenix is one of the top cities for human trafficking and sex slavery. This is something that, as a community, we have not addressed to the level we need to. Their vision was not only to make people aware of this issue but to make a statement, be true leaders and get our community involved with The Phoenix Dream Center.

The Phoenix Dream Center serves more than 40,000 people every month through a variety of programs. The Dream Center Life Recovery program is a faith-based, residential recovery program that helps men and women overcome substance abuse, anger management and emotional struggles. The Dream Center Rescue Project operates two separate homes for underage girls and adult women (ages 18-30) who have been saved from human trafficking and sex slavery on the streets of Phoenix. The Rescue Project is designed specifically to meet all their needs, including spiritual and emotional support, while providing an environment that is loving and caring.

The Center has a great support team, but many of the rooms for the rescued girls and women cannot be used due to non-liveable conditions. That is where Arizona Foothills Magazine comes in. When we do something, we do it right as we have worked with the top interior design firms in the Valley for more than 16 years. This immediately felt like the right time, and we knew the right people to make it happen.

The goal was to ask the top designers and supply companies to donate their time, products and services to create the ultimate dream rooms that are happy and secure for these young women. It reminded me of the Arizona Foothills’ Showhouses in past years but had much more meaning than ever before. We are now working as a community doing what we all love but helping out those in need; truly a simple concept that needs to be done more often.

I visited the Dream Center site on the day I wrote this letter. Words cannot describe the time and effort that has gone into each and every room but this is a good start: loving, comfortable, safe, creative and inspiring. The only way you will be able to see these rooms for yourself would be to visit AZFoothills.com. You may just get an idea from the pictures to make changes in your own casa. These bedrooms and living areas were designed by the top pros in Arizona, after all.

A huge thank you to everyone involved including the design teams, vendors and the Dream Center staff and volunteers. You all did good. Very good. A special thanks to the Meeks and Donnellys for sharing their dream. Dreams do come true.

All the best.

Michael Dee  President and Publisher

"Live Simple. Love Lavishly" 

Michael Dee publisher of Arizona Foothills Magazine based in Scottsdale,
Arizona can be followed on Twitter @MichaelSDee.

Michael Dee of Arizona Foothills Magazine welcomes your comments or 
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"We are always open to comments and new ideas" says
Michael Dee of Arizona Foothills Magazine.