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Enchanted Shelter is this Multi-Tasking Woman's Vision


Have you ever stood on the brink of a new idea, inspiration, or “calling” and felt it so powerfully it made you afraid?  That’s the way Terry Grahl, interior decorator and owner of Terry’s Enchanted Cottage, felt when she received a call from the board chairman of a local women’s shelter.  “Terry, just come paint one wall for us – it would help so much” came his calm, reassuring voice. 

As Terry tells it: “I had never even visited a shelter for homeless women! When I did, I found it depressing and sad. I couldn’t just paint one wall; I felt compelled to help improve each bed in each room because I sensed it was the only sacred space these women had to call their own. My mother taught me at a young age that if you are able to help someone or some situation, you don’t just walk away.” 

Well, Terry didn’t walk away. She entrenched herself in transforming the shelter for 60 women into a sunny place filled with bright colors, fresh quilts, beautiful wall murals, and most of all, hope. And she didn’t work alone.  Lots of volunteers and businesses came forth and offered their time and their resources. “The local newspaper ran a story on what we were doing and that helped some people find us,” says Terry. “A woman on the assembly line at GM saw a scrap of newspaper on the floor of the assembly room, noticed the words “Pursuit of Hope” and stooped to pick it up and read it.

It was the article on our shelter renovation that little scrap of paper led this woman to call upon her friends, The Women’s Affinity Group of GM. They paid for the entire renovation of the bathrooms – 4 showers and 6 toilet stalls as well as air conditioners for every room.  Another client of Terry’s bought new washers and dryers. “At each turn, I found signs that pointed me to the next opportunity.”

Terry was creative in her approach: “To help finance the rest of my vision, I asked our local Curves to give the shelter a percentage of what Curves earned in one day of new registrants. After that, a friend began dating the owner of a huge furniture store chain and they provided beds and have helped me see how to promote the shelter makeovers nationally.  From here the sky is the limit!”

One thing is very clear about Terry – her ears and eyes are always open to new possibilities.  “What happened with me and these shelters is a story for every woman! I’m no one special; I did horribly in school - I didn’t grow up with lots of money.  I just stopped putting up my own roadblocks and began to notice the signs in life that moved me from just ‘running my business’ to changing lives.”

Bravo, Terry! You inspire us all to get on the road with you!

If you would like to know more about Terry’s project, and how you can do the same your community, drop us an email.