October 4 – MANKATO – The city’s first My Happy Haven-Mankato recipient managed to secure a phone call between her chemo session and her trip up north with friends.

“I was certainly shocked,” said Cheryl Hutchens, an owner who received a renovation to her room, thanks to several local companies specializing in interior design.

The efforts were coordinated by the new local affiliate of My Happy Haven, a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing comfortable spaces for women undergoing cancer treatment.

Hutchens knows very few details about the bedroom transformation that takes place in his Hilltop hiker while he is away for the weekend. She told the organizers about her preference for traditional furniture and the color aqua.

“It’s the color of my cancer,” she said, referring to the blue-green hue used for the ribbons that designate ovarian cancer survivors at awareness events.

On Sunday, Hutchens returned home after staying in a lakeside cabin in a newly renovated room and a bit of a fanfare.

“It will be a big surprise for both of us,” said Crystal Simondet, who was due to be alongside her mother for the “big reveal”.

Simondet named Hutchens as the My Happy Haven winner after hearing about a similar renovation project the Iowa-based nonprofit parent group gifted to a North Mankato woman in June.

“My mother is a very generous person who always helps people. She has done so much for others, I must do something for her.”

Simondet spent Thursday evening cleaning the room in preparation for the project. Cancer treatments left Hutchens without the strength to do the heavy lifting herself.

The family is united. Simondet, 39, with her husband and four children, live a short walk from Hutchens.

Rooms and Rest provides furniture to replace the two dressers and a wooden headboard that were passed down to Hutchens’ grandchildren for use in their bedrooms.

The story continues

Bellissimo Paint applied two gallons of paint donated by Diamond Vogel to the walls of Hutchens’ bedroom.

“A fresh coat of paint can lift your spirits and make the room pleasant and relaxing,” said co-owner Jennifer Ek. “We sent a crew over there this morning (Friday). They worked about two hours.”

Donating workforce is a way for the company to give back to its community, Ek said.

“We think that’s a really good way to do it.”

Other local business contributors include Circle Inn, Timeless Interiors, Blinds & More, Difference Makers-Realty Executives, and Inspired Portraits.