Meet the Maker

DESIGNS TO CURE Karen Reich Banta

By Lauren Avellino Turton

There’s just something so special and welcoming about walking up to a home and being greeted by a beautiful, handmade wreath hanging on the door. Designs to Cure creates one-of-a-kind pieces celebrating a wide array of themes, holidays, and special occasions. Not only are wreaths stunning to look at, but the sale of each one helps out a very important cause, near and dear to the company’s founder and artist, Karen Reich Banta. While she and her family reside in West Grove, PA in Chester County, Karen spent every summer in Ocean City since the day she was born.

“It is, and has always been, my second home and I just love it,” said Karen. Today, Karen and her husband, David, and two adorable daughters, Carley and Claire, spend their summers vacationing in Ocean City. It was when Carley was just two-years-old, and the family was here on vacation, they got the scare of their life. “I had brought her to the doctor before we drove down because I felt something wasn’t quite right,” she recalled. “The doctor said I was worried since she was my first child, but that everything was fine. We got to the beach that weekend and she grew so lethargic, and it was so scary.” The Bantas quickly brought Carley to an urgent care facility and the doctor there tested her urine. He explained to the terrified parents

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www.facebook.com/karenbanta2018 that Carley’s health was in serious jeopardy, as her blood sugar level spiked to 1000 mg/dL, which can cause loss of consciousness, and possibly worse. Immediately, little Carley was medevaced to Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE. “I couldn’t believe what was happening. Thursday we were at the pediatrician, and Monday she was in a medevac,” she said. “Carley was almost in a diabetic coma. The hospital put together a team of doctors for every potential problem and outcome.” About a half a year following Carley’s emergency and diagnosis of Type One Diabetes, Banta said everything started to hit her. “My husband and I had to learn how to do so many things we weren’t used to, like how to administer needles into her tiny arms and legs, and how to perform sugar counts,” she remembered. Then came another troublesome diagnosis. Carley was diagnosed with celiac disease - the body’s immune system overreacts in response to gluten, damages the small intestine and reduces the ability to absorb vital nutrients. “My mind started racing, wondering what I could do to help kids like Carley suffering from the disease,” she recalled. “As a school teacher, I thought about creative ways to pitch in, and started an online gluten-free bakery, but due to the demands of my job, I didn’t have enough time.” And then a very unexpected opportunity presented itself. “Nemours contacted me to become a part of a newlyformed group,” she said. “There was a team of doctors from around the country and five families with children diagnosed with Type One Diabetes at a young age. We had monthly conference calls, and the newly-diagnosed parents could learn more about the disease, and find out about resources available to them.”

Karen was then invited to speak at a conference in front of doctors as a mother of a diabetic child. “They seemed amazed to hear a parents’ honest point of view, a view of true living with the disease,” she said. The Banta family became highly involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). “We support the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter. Since I work in Wilmington, it’s closer for us to participate in the annual walks,” she explained. Karen is a third grade teacher at St. Peter Cathedral School. The first year Karen, her family, and friends formed a team for Carley, they raised $12,000. “While that was absolutely amazing, I still felt a void, and still felt I could be doing more,” she said. “I started creating wreaths. One random August morning, I got some supplies out and made a burlap pumpkin wreath for the fall season. It was therapeutic. I had been over thinking everything during that rough time, and it helped keep my mind busy, and off of the difficult medical things going on.” As she continued happily crafting her wreaths, Karen’s close friends began buying them, and she sold her work at local Christmas craft fairs and Ocean City’s block parties. At first, she said, sales were slow, but steady. “Lately, in the past eight months, my sales have been great!” said Karen. Most sales are generated through the Designs to Cure Facebook page, and with every purchase, a portion is donated directly to JDRF. So far, Karen has raised hundreds of dollars for JDRF, and couldn’t be more pleased to do her part. “We’ve helped them purchase an abundance of necessary supplies,” she said. “They’re so grateful for what we’ve done so far.” As far as production goes, “I work out of my basement, and make the wreaths whenever I can. It’s become a family joke actually. If we’re going to the movies, I’ll bring some supplies with me to work on one.” The manufacturing process is a family affair. Karen’s dad, Richard, hand-paints all of the wooden signs for each piece. “He’s my partner in crime,” she said. “We’ve always had an amazing connection and working together helps us continue that bond. He’ll say, ‘Karen, got any signs for me today?’” “Since my granddaughter’s diagnosis of Type One Diabetes, I have felt the need to help her through this disease that she did not ask for,” said Richard. “By helping my daughter, I feel that in some way my making of the signs she uses helps with the donation to JDRF. That donation could help find a cure for T1D, and help my granddaughter and other children live a normal life.” Then there’s little miss Carley, the driving force behind this amazing project. Mom said she’s ready at any moment to pitch in and help. “She loves to be involved. If my materials are all over the place, she asks if she can help to organize. I show her stepby-step how to make a wreath, and we learn together that kindness is very important,” she said. “She is phenomenal living with her disease, and our family is always bonded.” “I think it’s amazing watching my mom make such beautiful wreaths for such a great cause. I hope one day there is a cure for myself and other T1Ds,” said Carley. Carley’s kickstarted her very own project, too, during the COVID-19 pandemic. She’s currently creating cool, tropical and Philly sports-themed masks to help keep everyone safe and healthy. Carley Banta - an inspiration to us all. “She is a warrior,” said mom. “Now at 11-years-old, she handles this very challenging and hard to manage disease like a champ.”