Transform home and heart

Updated Tuesday at 11 a.m.: This event has been postponed until fall 2011. Visit http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=162891797067003 for updates.

Carolyn Moor’s front yard welcomes with whimsical whirligigs and a wide front porch. As a spring breeze ruffles her dark hair and spins the floral yard art, her direct smile and charming southern drawl make her guests feel, well, like they’re home.

The peace of her Orlando home is far from what she felt on Feb. 14, 2000 when the young widow clutched a bloody sweater and wept as her husband’s heart beat within the chest of a complete stranger. A tragic car accident took her husband Chad’s life, and his organs, including his heart, were donated on Valentine’s Day.

On April 15, the petite interior designer will stand before hundreds of Central Florida women to deliver a message of economic and spiritual hope — learned through personal experience. The Arkansas native who has been a guest on TLC’s “Shalom in the Home” and on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” will host a unique event with a timeless message: Give and you shall receive.

Nurture the spirit

Moor, who owns Moor Alive Interiors of Winter Park, and Jill Butler author of “Create The Space You Deserve” co-produced the first Create the Space You Deserve event. It’s hosted by CLOVE Orlando, the women’s group Moor founded. Their message: Discover creative tools to improve home and work spaces; understand that personal issues are reflected in living space; recognize how giving back to community nurtures the spirit.

Keynote speakers include QVC design expert Sharon Hanby-Robie, TLC host Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, spoken word poet Azure Antoinette and emcee Orlando life coach Jennifer Lee.

Five breakout presentations include the topics of art, Feng Shui, sustainable design, finance and organization. More than fifty exhibitors paired with their favorite charities will showcase tools and services to nurture and maximize personal spaces.

Victoria Cerrone transformed her career from attorney to professional art consultant and will present the breakout session “Live with Art”.

“Carolyn brings 11 years of research to one place in one day, so people can get the tools they need and make simple changes that matter,” Cerrone said.

A home in service

A twist on the event allowed registrants to secure a free event ticket by donating time, shoes or blood before April 1. According to Moor, 225 tickets were donated, garnering 80 pairs of shoes for Dress for Success and 120 lives saved from blood donations. Half of the $50 ticket price will benefit more than 50 charities.

Moor explained that the home you deserve means a home in service. “Create a Memory, Homes for Our Troops and WaterBrick are just three unique charities people may not know,” Moor said.

“I watched my charity New Hope for Kids live in a bubble and we (CLOVE) realized each of us felt that way about our individual charities. We wanted to have a bigger impact,” Moor said.

By connecting the slogans, “Grow where you are planted” and “Create the space you deserve”, made popular by author Jill Butler, the event concept took shape: Transform yourself and your home so you can transform the world.

According to Moor, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach taught her that peace in her heart was the beginning of finding peace in her home. She taught friends and soon it became her business. “People need to rebalance their spaces after a divorce, death or combining two families — even wealthy people are retrofitting. Especially in these times, people need the dignity of knowing that their home matters.”

Moving on

Moor asks her clients: What do you miss most about how your life used to be and what are you grateful for now? Then they tag everything in each room with a numbered sticky note.

“In this room, my No. 1 item is my late husband’s art work, which is unfinished and can never be replaced,” Moor said. “By the time they get to 15, people know the other items don’t matter. I understand it’s a hard process and the need to let go, but the fear of doing it…I didn’t take Chad’s clothes down for 18 months.”

Dave Joswick, executive director for New Hope for Kids (Moor’s charity), talked about her transformation. “Carolyn is the epitome of what a grief program can do to help a family. We watched her come from the abyss and see her now as a vivacious community leader.”

After Moor and her young daughters completed the yearlong grief counseling program at New Hope, she was the first family member asked to be on the Board of Directors because she knew firsthand what it was like to walk through their door after a tragic loss.

“My story proves that you can regain hope,” Moor said.

Create the Space You Deserve is 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 15 at the Rosen Centre in Orlando. Tickets are $50. Register online by visiting www.createthespaceyoudeserve.com. For more information about CLOVE, visit www.cloveorlando.com and New Hope for Kids, visit www.newhopeforkids.com