By Allison Mitchell By Allison Mitchell | October 30, 2023 | Home & Real Estate, People, Feature, Features, Home & Real Estate, Featured, Women of Influence Latest, Community, People Feature, Home & Real Estate Feature, Interviews, Apple News, Home Feature, Philanthropy,
Meet Susan Wintersteen, the creative and charitable mind behind Savvy Giving By Design.
Susan Wintersteen; PHOTO COURTESY OF SAVVY INTERIORS
When local teen Kasey Harvey was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, Susan Wintersteen was eager to help. The principal interior designer and general contractor behind San Diego’s Savvy Interiors, Wintersteen tapped her network to makeover the teen’s room free of charge. “Witnessing firsthand the relief and joy that this new space brought to Kasey and her family throughout her yearlong treatment and recovery, I was inspired to keep going and extend her services to more families,” says Wintersteen, who launched her nonprofit Savvy Giving By Design in 2015 (SGBD). Now boasting 11 chapters across the United States, the organization continues to spread hope to children one design at a time. Here, Wintersteen shares why giving back is essential to her life’s work.
In 2015, Savvy Giving By Design was granted 501(c)(3) status and has continued to expand, impacting families across the country with new chapters nationwide. In 2019, we partnered with Make-A-Wish to fulfill room wishes. Later that year, our partnership expanded to include all of our SGBD chapters nationally, and we are honored to be a design nonprofit for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 2021, SGBD added its Pop-Up Designer Program amid a global pandemic. This endeavor further extends SGBD services by facilitating partnerships between Savvy-trained designers and Make-A-Wish in neighborhoods where we don’t yet have an affiliate chapter.
Giving back is an integral part of my personal and professional life because it allows me to positively impact others with purpose. As a designer, I have the opportunity to create spaces that promote healing and well-being, particularly for children in medical crises. This experience gives me a unique perspective on how a space can function and benefit a family going through a difficult time. It allows me to remember the significance and importance of good design.
‘A true gift is something you can never repay’ is one of my favorite quotes. I hope my legacy includes embodying the principle of ‘giving more than you take.’ I strive to impact my circle of community positively, and I hope my efforts inspire others to do the same. It is my hope that the children we impact will pay it forward in their own way, knowing their community loved and cared for them.
We are partnering with a student in high school over the next four years to collaborate on developing and implementing an exciting new program. Our primary objective is to introduce the innovative Go To Your Room Box, which will contain design-centric items and comforting objects curated to positively impact children outside our immediate service area.
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