Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Design Team: Working as volunteers for Design Response, West Valley College design students, from left, Christine Pecsok, Elizabeth Sanoff and Glenn Forman, have spent three weeks working on a possible design for the interior of the 15,000-square-foot Girl Scouts of Santa Clara Valley office in Campbell.
Donating Designers
Design Response creates interiors that work for nonprofit organizations
By Erin Mayes
Working at a nonprofit organization usually isn't glamorous. Offices are often cramped, with mismatched and outdated furniture. They are usually characterized by friendly, yet harried workers who are lucky if they have their own offices, much less a space that is free of clutter.
Helen Carreker, however, has a solution. She's the founder of Design Response, which exists solely to help nonprofit organizations conquer their design problems. And, naturally, her organization is also a nonprofit.
Since creating the downtown Campbell-based company in 1992, Carreker has come to the aid of dozens of nonprofits, working with the help of a capable team of volunteer designers and architects.
"We try to work with donated materials and donated professional help," Carreker said.
Formerly a school psychologist, Carreker said she understands what it's like to work in a business that's low on funds.
"I've worked with special-needs children," she said. "It's phenomenally challenging work in an environment that isn't conducive."
So what separates conducive and nonconducive environments?
First, Carreker said, is safety.
"A space needs to be safe, functional and accessible to people of all sizes and shapes and abilities," she said. "People need to be able to move through the space."
Photgraph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Past Present: The Santa Clara Humane Society's interior lobby, customer service area and offices were designed and furnished by Design Response and volunteers four years ago.
One of the first things the designers on a new project try to find out is how the facility functions and where it sees itself three to five years down the road.
"Many times they start out with a couple of offices and the space grows," Carreker said.
Sometimes the organization grows, but the space doesn't, which is a common problem among nonprofit agencies, because they have cost limitations. In this case, Design Response looks at the best way to group people in a given space.
Another major concern for nonprofits is privacy. Many times these agencies assist people who are having a rough time making it on their own, and, sometimes, they are seeking out a specific nonprofit agency for counseling services.
"People need to have confidence that their conversations are being held privately," Carreker said, adding that she's seen people simply get up and leave because they didn't feel comfortable in a particular setting. "People who are going through really tough times really need that privacy."
The way an office is designed even has an effect on staff retention, Carreker said.
"The reality is that they need to render their services in the most professional environment possible," she said. "It's not about aesthetics only. People feel the professionalism. We try to match the furniture and make sure it's ergonomical."
Volunteers for Design Response are currently working on the office schematics for Hospice of the Valley and the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara Valley. Diane Hurd and her interior design students at West Valley College have been working on designs for the Girl Scouts' office. All of her students are working on different designs, and the best one will be chosen in a couple of weeks by Design Response.
Other current projects include Avenidas, the largest information and referral service for seniors in Palo Alto; the Clara-Mateo Alliance; the Woman's Day Shelter in Palo Alto; Hidden Villa and Parents Helping Parents.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Have a Seat: The Santa Clara Humane Society's interior lobby, customer service area and offices were designed and furnished by Design Response and volunteers four years ago.
Design Response has received two major design awards this year from the American Society of Interior Design for its work on the Saratoga Parents' Nursery School. The school was completely redesigned, and Kennedy Junior High School's library in Cupertino was also completely redesigned. West Valley College Students worked on the nursery project, while San Jose State University interior design students worked on the junior high school's design.
Carreker said that when she first founded Design Response nine years ago, she was interested in helping nonprofits that assist children, because it is an area that's close to her heart. She has since developed a philosophy of well-roundedness, to ensure that a wide range of organizations are helped.
"We try to cover the gamut," she said. "We want to widely assist the whole community."
When choosing designers and architects for any given job, Carreker said, she tries to match the designers with the projects.
"It's important to listen and understand how they would like to be involved with us," she said. "It is very important that the designer want to work on a particular job."
For instance, Design Response has helped the American Cancer Society with its office space, and Carreker said finding designers for this project was not difficult, because so many people have family members and friends who have been affected by cancer.
Likewise, Design Response helped the Santa Clara Humane Society design its office space.
"That one was a no-brainer for the folks that love dogs," she said.
Finding designers isn't hard, because Helen is a member of the California Peninsula chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers, through which she meets many of her volunteers.
She said she is very grateful for the help she receives from volunteers.
"I have a daily affirmation of the inherent goodness in people," Carreker said.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Designing Duo: Program Director Barbara Lonergan, left, and Design Assistant Debbie Van Dick are two of the main organizers who run Design Response.
Design Response also tries to match projects with sponsors and works with the design industry for donations or significantly reduced products, Carreker said.
Because the business operates as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt agency, they provide tax donation receipts to people or businesses that donate.
Unfortunately, Design Response was forced to shut down its warehouse access program, because the warehouse it was renting on Harrison Avenue was demolished by the redevelopment agency to make way for a new housing development.
"It's high-density housing now," Carreker said, smiling. She said she's glad the space was converted into homes, because there is a need for housing in the Bay Area.
However, Design Response has been unable to accept all of the furniture that people and businesses have tried to donate in the past 14 months. The warehouse was closed because there's nowhere to put the furniture.
"People are wanting to give us furniture because of all of the downsizing that's going on," Carreker said. "So our work is more difficult. Sometimes we have to rent temporary storage facilities."
In the end, Carreker said the warehouse situation has actually served to strengthen the organization's mission.
Recently, the company hired a new program director, Barbara Lonergan. She's re-entering the work force after almost 20 years of raising her children and working in the nonprofit arena in her spare time.
Lonergan also taught children who had special needs for a time, so she and Carreker share that interest. Among other projects, Lonergan has served as the project manager for the Walk for AIDS in San Francisco, as well as the 10K walk and the 5K run for the San Jose Mercury News.
"I've done so much work in the nonprofit sector," Lonergan said. "It's part of my life--it's part of who I am.
"Some very wise person once said, 'Think of what you love to do and figure out how to get paid for it,'" she said.
Campbell, California
