Lending a Helping Hand at the Hospital

Space makeover photos courtesy of Doug Buerlein

For over a century, Children's Hospital of Richmond has been a vital part of the community and a place of hope for countless children in need of the highest-quality medical care. This incredible institution is so important and respected that, when we decided to open a store location in Richmond in March, we immediately knew we wanted Children's Hospital of Richmond to be our local nonprofit partner.

"When we enter into a new market, one of our first priorities is to ground ourselves with the people and organizations that define the community," says Jennifer Pape, the Regional Director who oversees our store locations in Virginia. "We were truly impressed by [the hospital's] impact on the community and wanted to use this moment...to recognize the administrators and providers to some of the region's most vulnerable members." Following the store's opening weekend, our employees proudly presented the hospital foundation with a portion of the proceeds--a check for $11,370 to help them continue their amazing medical mission.

Our Richmond store employees presenting the check to Children's Hospital of Richmond.

But that wasn't the only way we wanted to help. Upon visiting the Child Life Center, we decided we also wanted to offer our organizing expertise to help their office function more smoothly. "The hospital is a fast-paced environment and having an organized, streamlined child life workspace will increase our ability to help children and families," explains Senior Child Life Specialist Heather Rossi. "Whether it's finding art supplies for a child to express their emotions, or a teaching doll to demonstrate what a surgery might entail, our Child Life space houses the comfort items and tools we use to help make kids comfortable and confident in their care."

The first area we worked on was the team member workspace. They already had desks and storage cabinets, but we felt that a full refresh of the space would allow them to utilize the space more efficiently.

BEFORE

We added a double-sided Elfa Freestanding Desk to minimize the overall footprint of two desks, and we equipped their mobile shelving unit with a number of White Plastic Storage Bins to render their supplies easily accessible and portable. Plus, the new desk layout gave us the room to rearrange other areas of the office as needed.

AFTER

The new layout of the team member workspace allows for easy mobility and more efficient use of floor space.

Next up was the craft storage area. Previously, the craft supplies had been crammed onto a mobile shelving unit and pushed into a corner. While it did help save some space, it also looked a little messy and made one of the office doors more difficult to access.

BEFORE

Continuing the office makeover, we replaced their existing craft storage system with a beautiful new Birch and White Elfa Décor Freestanding Drawer Unit, complete with White Plastic Storage Bins to help keep the drawers tidy. Now, their craft supplies--including paint, pens, markers, and paper--can be accessed at a moment's notice without cluttering up the doorway.

AFTER

The Elfa Décor Freestanding Drawer Unit's Birch and White finish matches the team members' desks, giving the room a more unified aesthetic.

Lastly, we turned our attention to the Child Life Center's game and activity storage area. While they already had two large storage cabinets and a shelving unit, we felt the contents should be sorted in a way that made everything easier to find (and put away).

BEFORE

In this case, we didn't feel it was necessary to replace the cabinets. Instead, we helped them sort and categorize the games and toys, and then grouped like-items together into Our Clear Storage Boxes. Now, each type of toy and game has its own lightweight container, and contents of each one are clearly visible.

AFTER

Our Clear Storage Boxes are one of our most versatile solutions and can be used in closets, offices, play rooms, craft rooms, garages, and a myriad of other places.

"Our new Child Life office space is simply stunning!" raves Rachel Bruni, Executive Director of Cause Marketing and Retail Fundraising for the Children's Hospital Foundation. "[The Container Store's] support in thoughtfully organizing the equipment and tools this team uses on a daily basis to help children is appreciated beyond words. [They've] not only improved our environment aesthetically, but our efficiency and physical operations will improve as well. We cannot thank them enough!"