In the heat of the moment, people promise God they will do many things if He delivers them from their troubles.
Some don't follow through.
Others do.
And then, there are people like Shelley Ham.
Sixteen years ago Shelley's daughter, Morgan, was seriously ill at Children's Hospital Oakland. That's when Shelley made her pact with God. "I knew that if my child lived, that I would spend the rest of my life helping children with life-threatening illnesses."
Morgan is now 17, and Shelley's dedication is as great as ever.
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Shelley is now the driving force behind Rooms of Hope, a non profit that provides bedroom makeovers for seriously ill children. Since its founding in 2011, Rooms of Hope has made-over the rooms of 40 sick kids. Throw in the "mini" room makeovers they do for silblings, and they are now close to 100 rooms total.
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"I wake up every day knowing this is what I was put on earth to do," Shelly says.
Many sick children, particularly those with weakened immune systems, aren't free to go out in public as much as they would like. Their homes, and particularly their bedrooms, are where they spend an extraordinary amount of time. The mission of Rooms of Hope is to make those rooms as special, and as personal, as they possibly can.
Shelley begins with a, sometimes, hours-long interview with the child to learn about what his or her dream rook would look like. She then relies on a team of designers, contractors, and helpers to voluteer their time to make that dream a reality.
It was Shelley's background in interior design that eventually lead her to founding Rooms of Hope. She began her career helping sick kids as a volunteer for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. It was then that a sick child requested that her room be made over. It was a wish Shelley was happy to take the lead one.
When it was done, she saw her future.
"I knew this is what I wanted to do. It was my calling."
