In the News
March 31, 2010
Nashua man who was laid off now gives back to community
By ANDREW SYLVIA
Correspondent
While the recession has affected many people adversely, one Nashua man took his layoff as an opportunity to start a business that also helps those in need.
P.J. Davey took three months of soul searching to decide what to do next after being laid off from Oracle in June. But after a visit to Lake Tahoe and inspiration from the movie “Pay It Forward,” he took his love of painting and coupled it with a desire to help his community.
His new company, Paint It Forward, aims to donate a head-to-toe bedroom makeover to someone in need for every 10 paid painting jobs. Davey plans to donate rooms to local veterans returning from deployments, people falling on difficult economic times or those with family members afflicted with an illness.
“We don’t want people to look at it as a company, but as an idea, because we feel the idea is universal,” Davey said. “We want to share our ideas and encourage other businesses and other people who are considering starting their businesses that there is a way to be a for-profit organization but also give back at the same time.
“You don’t have to be a huge conglomerate to give back to the community. You don’t have to have a million dollars, and my hope is that everybody gets to experience what this feels like to give back to somebody you never met before. It’s something everybody should experience once in their life, and it’s amazing what good can come out of it.
Late last month, Davey donated his first room makeover to Kathryn Thibeault, of Hooksett. Thibeault, a telecommuting, stay-at-home mother of two, recently found out her 4-year-old son Corbin has autism, a pervasive developmental disorder that can impair social interaction.
Paint it Forward “has been fantastic,” Thibeault said. “They’ve come in and they’ve been like friends. They’re so kind to our children, and I’m so glad that they’ve chosen our son, because he’s the world to us. It’s been really touching.”
Thibeault knew Davey from school but hadn’t talked in years until Davey saw a Facebook page dedicated to Corbin and raising money for autism research.
Corbin is “a high-functioning autistic child,” Thibeault said. “There are some areas where he’s brilliant, but he has problems with sensory stimulus, and every time we have to go somewhere or leave somewhere, it can be really challenging. But through early intervention challenges, we’ve learned strategies to overcome his disability.”
In addition to philanthropic work, Paint It Forward is trying to create a niche for itself by focusing on smaller clients and working with other artisans from the community, such as Nashua photographer Jenni Leonard and Ellice St. Laurent of Stella Designs. “I’ve known P.J. for a long time,” Leonard said, “and I’ve lived in Nashua all my life, and nobody is doing anything like this to this effect. It’s awesome.”
Staff Photo by Grant Morris PJ Davey, owner of Paint it Forward hugs Corbin Thibeault, in the room that Davey and two others painted for free as part of Paint it Forwards commitment to giving back to the community. For every 10 rooms Paint it Forward paints, they paint a room for person in need. Thibeault has high functioning Autism and the room before was to stimulating to be a play room.
December 3, 2010
STROKE OF BENEVOLENCE
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| Alex Dymek Drinkwater, 2, is on the receiving end of a bedroom makeover by PJ Davey of Nashua, owner of Paint It Forward. |
By CAROL ROBIDOUX
Union Leader Correspondent
LONDONDERRY — PJ Davey painted his way through college. His resulting career as a software salesman lasted six years — which turned out to be six years too long, once he realized he’d already found his calling. It involved paint brushes, not sales pitches. “I just didn’t feel comfortable in that profession — it just wasn’t me. But it was hard to justify building this career in software and them jumping back into painting. I knew that if I was going to do that, it would have to be more than just another painting business,” said Davey, of Nashua.
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| PJ Davey sands the walls in Alex Dymek Drinkwater’s bedroom, which will now be more conducive to his daily autism therapy sesssions. |
He came up with Paint It Forward, based on the premise that for every 10 rooms Davey paints, he sets aside 10 percent of his profit to give back to the community by donating his services to those in need — someone who has served their country, suffered from disability or survived a traumatic illness.
His first makeover was for Corbin Thibeault, a 4 year old from Londonderry with autism. Corbin’s mom, Katie Thibeault, had grown up with Davey, attending the same elementary and middle schools. They reconnected on Facebook, where she learned about his fledgling business, and he learned about the cause closest to her heart.
“PJ saw my Autism Speaks page for Corbin and asked me if we wanted to work with him on a project. I had no idea at the time what he was offering,” said Thibeault.
But what Davey was offering was a chance to repaint and reorganize the room her sons shared, from a cluttered, distracting playroom to a toned down, homeschool-ready haven.
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| Alex with his team of therapists, from Easter Seals and the Londonderry School District. |
“It’s night and day. It’s completely changed Corbin’s demeanor. He’s having fewer meltdowns. Really, it’s more of a learning center. It’s amazing, and it’s certainly not anything we could have afforded to do on our own,” Thibeault said.
With one charitable makeover under his belt, Davey is ready to unveil makeover No. 2 — a bedroom for 2-year-old Alex Dymek Drinkwater, a happy-go-lucky boy whose autism diagnosis means that, despite an above-average ability to solve puzzles and understand the world around him, he has no ability to put his thoughts into words.
“He can’t communicate verbally, or dress himself. He doesn’t eat food,” said his mother, Lynette Dymek. “He started to eat baby food at about six months, but developed food issues right away — coughing and gagging on anything you’d put into his mouth.”
Although he was born without complications, Alex spent five days in the neonatal unit after doctors realized he had a hypersensitivity to light. He started receiving physical therapy at the age of six months.
“He’s so happy and pleasant, I feel lucky that way. But he’s also very complicated. He’s never slept in his own room — it was actually filled with toys and furniture and clothing, until PJ started working on it,” said Dymek. “He sleeps in a crib in my room, and tends to be a bit of a hoarder. That’s something we’re working on with him.”
It was Stephanie Mendes of Easter Seals, one of Alex’s occupational therapists, who contacted Davey about doing a room makeover, after she’d heard about what Davey had done for the Thibeaults, also Easter Seals clients.
Alex’s father, Allen Drinkwater, is a third-shift postal worker based in Massachu-setts, the family’s sole source of income ever since Dymek was laid off from DHL, where she had suffered a work-related back injury prior to losing her job. She still struggles with back pain and has limited mobility.
“Our income was cut in half,” said Drinkwater. “We’re doing everything we can to keep going, but it’s hard. But we’ve found a wonderful network of support. We’re getting the best therapy available for Alex, and that’s taken the stress out of my life. This is going to mean the world for Alex.”
When Davey heard Alex’s story, he knew it was the right thing to do.
“He didn’t have a room to call his own, it was just stacked with stuff. So over the last few weeks we’ve worked with his family, organizing and consigning some of the excess things,” Davey said.
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| PJ Davey prepares for a second coat of paint on a bedroom makeover donated by his company, Paint It Forward. |
The students worked out a design for the room and a list of items needed to make it happen — putting them over the $900 budget Davey had set aside for the job.
“They ended up holding a fundraiser at school, an Italian lunch — everyone brought in a dish and they raised $300 to pay for the extra items they wanted to put into Alex’s room,” Davey said. He believes his 10-for-1 business model could easily be replicated in all kinds of industry, and he’s hoping his efforts might inspire other entrepreneurs.
“A lot of other companies have the ability to adopt a hybrid model like this,” Davey said. “I just want to prove that it works, that you are truly successful when you give something back.”
Company redesigns bedroom for autistic boy
Published: Thursday, December 23, 2010
Courtesy photo by Jeni Courounis Leonard; lead photographer for Paint It Forward. All images copyrighted by J. Sophia Fotography 2010. www.jsophiafotography.com PJ Davey, owner of Paint It Forward, left, with Alan and Lynette Dymek in Alex’s new room.
ON THE NET
For more information on Paint It Foward, visitwww.paintitforwardnh.com.
By SAMANTHA ARROYO Correspondent
NASHUA – P.J. Davey is changing lives and paying it forward – one brush stroke at a time.
In June 2009, Davey, of Nashua, launched Paint It Forward, a company dedicated to helping people who have served overseas, have suffered immense loss or have survived a devastating illness.
The premise is simple. For every 10 rooms Paint It Forward completes, the company donates a bedroom makeover for a member of the community.
“Through the purchasing power of others, we hope to reach out to those in New Hampshire who are looking to begin the next chapter in their lives,” Davey said.
Clients can choose from three tiers of service, each one increasing in price. The basic service includes freshly painted walls and trim detail, whereas the full service includes caulking, touch-ups, ceiling re-texturing, watermark and stress fracture repairs, plush carpets and detail work.
With each level of service, 10 percent to 20 percent of the client’s purchase price is set aside for the company’s service project.
When 10 rooms are completed, the team surveys New Hampshire candidates who are deserving of a fresh start.
The company’s latest donated makeover went to Alex Dymek, a 2-year-old Londonderry resident diagnosed with autism.
Alex was recommended for the bedroom makeover by an occupational therapist through Easter Seals.
When Davey and his team entered Alex’s bedroom, they were overwhelmed.
“His floor was piled with stuff up to our shoulders,” Davey said.
Alex’s mother, Lynette Dymek, said the room had been used as a storage closet, and her son hadn’t been using the bed.
Instead, Alex had been sleeping in his parents’ room.
“We felt like going into the house that the over-stimulation and the clutter was really getting in the way of his education and his learning process,” Davey said. “We just had to do something.”
Alex is nonverbal, is unable to eat solid food and is still in diapers.
“We wanted to be able to give Alex a space within the home that he’ll not only be able to call his own, but it’ll also double as a room for him to grow both physically and mentally,” Davey said.
Prior to each makeover reveal, the team meets with the family to ensure the room is custom designed to meet the recipient’s needs. In addition, the team films, photographs and consults with the family on a regular basis.
“Essentially, it’s like a low-budget ‘Extreme Home Makeover,’ ” Davey said.
Paint It Forward enlisted the help of faculty and early education students from Kaplan University in Portland, Maine, to help design the bedroom.
They were given two weeks and $1,000 to work with; however, the students had to remain within certain parameters.
For instance, the design needed to be low maintenance and items needed to be organized in a way that made them easily accessible.
Lynette Dymek has medical ailments that make bending down difficult, and Davey wanted to ensure that the new bedroom was comfortable and manageable for the entire family.
In addition, the students had to ensure that everything in the bedroom had an educational value.
The students chose an “under the sea” theme for the 2-year-old and managed to create a number of unique items for the room.
“What the students came up with was pretty remarkable,” Davey said. “They went over the budget, but what they did in order to compensate for that was pretty amazing.
“They actually planned an Italian lunch at the school. So, everybody brought in an Italian dish and sold it at lunch, and they ended up raising an extra $250. It was pretty incredible.”
The planning for the design of Alex’s bedroom began over the summer.
Davey stayed busy traveling back and forth to Kaplan University with Jeni Courounis Leonard, of J. Sophia Fotography, to discuss design plans with the students and Anne Ryan, the university’s academic dean.
Once the design was complete, Davey enlisted a number of volunteers to paint, build, clean and rearrange Alex’s room.
Consistent with previous bedroom makeovers, Alex’s new room consists of freshly painted walls, textured ceilings, new carpeting, white curtains, refurbished bedroom furniture, restored family photos, a handmade rug and murals created by local artists and students.
On Dec. 4, Paint It Forward revealed Alex’s newly remodeled room and play space to his family. The reaction was priceless.
“He couldn’t recognize it,” Dymek said of her son’s reaction. “He immediately started looking around and touching the crayons. He was quite surprised.”
Alex’s occupational therapist Stephanie Mendes is working to transition the 2-year-old into his new environment.
“I have nothing but good things to say about P.J.,” Dymek said.
“I couldn’t believe it. For someone to come into my home and take money that he could have put in his pocket and make a room for my son? It’s the best Christmas gift we could have been given.”
Davey hopes more individuals and companies will enlist the professional services of Paint It Forward.
“The more people know about us, the more people recommend us,” he said. “The more people that recommend us, the more jobs we’ll get and the more makeovers we can do.”
December 5, 2010
Nashua Business ‘Paints’ It Forward, Helps Autistic Boy
Painter Provides Free Room Makeover For Boy In Need
POSTED: 1:05 am EST December 5, 2010
UPDATED: 1:09 am EST December 5, 2010
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LONDONDERRY, N.H. — This season there are some incredible stories of people paying it forward, but what about ‘painting’ it forward?
Nashua painter, PJ Davey, came up with the idea and Saturday he made a Londonderry boy’s life a little brighter.
Alex, 3, has autism and to help his parents, Davey provided a full room makeover designed especially for Alex’s needs.
The project is part of Davey’s new business idea. For every 10 rooms he paints he ‘paints’ it forward, painting a room for free for a community member in need.
“My hope is everybody at some point in their life gets an opportunity to feel this way and know what it feels like to give back to a complete stranger… there’s no better feeing in the world,” said Davey.
His company, Paint It Forward, had been working with Kaplan University students since October to transform Alex’s room.
Read more: http://www.wmur.com/news/26023111/detail.html#ixzz1IhdQGTpa
