Rooted in purpose. Giving back through art, community, and connection.
Michelle Woolley Sauter is the lead designer and owner of One Coast Design, now based in the Charleston Area of South Carolina. Since 1995, Michelle has been giving back to charities close to her heart.
“For as long as I can remember, giving back has been woven into the fabric of who I am, not as an obligation, but as one of the greatest joys of my life. Since 1995, I’ve had the privilege of serving children, families, and communities in ways that have shaped me just as much as I hope they’ve shaped others.”
One Coast Design commits 5% of all sales directly to vetted children’s charities and building programs across the Southeastern US, organizations that meet a strict standard for how resources are used, because generosity means nothing if it doesn’t reach the people who need it most.
Art, kids, and the gift of showing up
As an interior designer in Summerville, SC, I’m deeply connected to this Lowcountry community, and one of the most meaningful ways I give back is through art. I partner with local nonprofits like Hearts for Summerville to host pop-up art camps for under-resourced children, offering them a safe, joyful space to explore their creativity, find their voice, and simply be kids.
I’ve also worked with charities focused on homeless, abused, and neglected children through art camps and private art lessons that employ color and drawing therapies. Color therapy and drawing therapy have real, measurable benefits, and I’ve seen it firsthand in the faces of children who arrive quietly and leave with a painting in their hand and a smile they can’t contain. Sometimes kids have difficulty expressing themselves, and art is the language they can access. Art is the best medicine. Every time, without fail.
From a food pantry to a movement:
the story of FoodSHARE
During my 28 years of community work in Florida, I had the opportunity to launch a Food Pantry within the Safe House and offices of Children’s Home Society, one of the largest counseling and adoption agencies in the state. For families already navigating crisis, the gap between identifying a need and receiving help could mean days without food or basic supplies. An organized, accessible pantry meant case workers could immediately get essentials into the hands of those who needed them most.
Food Pantry
That work grew into something much bigger. Through strategic partnerships with faith-based churches and local businesses across South Florida, I launched a cooperative initiative called FoodSHARE, a network dedicated to organizing and hand-delivering food and critical supplies directly to under-resourced families and children in their homes.
100+ tons of food & supplies distributed, hundreds of thousands of volunteers organized over 7+ years, 8 supervisory volunteers organizing the collection and distribution, making regular home visits to children and their families in need every month and making emergency items available through the main hub located in downtown Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Today, FoodSHARE continues…collecting canned goods and sundry items donated to local food banks throughout South Florida and beyond. What started as one pantry became a living, breathing cooperative that still serves people in this community to this day. That’s what happens when community shows up for itself…it’s a thing to behold.
Heading to the Caribbean!
One of the most profoundly moving experiences of my life was the opportunity to organize and lead an art camp at an orphanage just outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I packed up all the art supplies myself and traveled alongside a dedicated medical team who were volunteering their time to care for children in desperate need of medical attention. While they tended to the children’s physical health, I had the joy and privilege of bringing color, creativity, and a little bit of wonder into their world through art.
Witnessing these children create, express, and simply play was a reminder of why this work matters so deeply. The giving was mutual. I returned home changed.
Giving back through donating artwork, individualized teaching, and initiating fundraising efforts for children’s charities across the globe holds a very special place in my heart. My desire to volunteer and work with children through art, and through relationships with strategic partners, enriches my life beyond measure, and gives the gifts and talents I’ve been given their fullest, most meaningful purpose.
“It has been my honor and privilege to be able to give back and work closely with so many children, families, and agencies over the past few decades. What a joy to see first-hand the difference in a child’s life when someone cares to take the time to lend a hand. It has been amazing to meet so many wonderful children and their families and to have co-labored with amazing friends, organizations and private businesses over the years. It all seems so unreal how happy it has made me be a part of something that is far bigger than myself.”— Michelle Woolley Sauter, Lead Designer & Owner, One Coast Design
Community partnerships close to my heart
Over the past three decades, from South Florida to Haiti to the Lowcountry, I’ve had the honor of serving alongside some incredible organizations:
- Habitat for Humanity, Dorchester County division, where I volunteer through “Women Build” and “Habitat ReStore,” helping future homeowners make their interior design selections.
- Hearts for Summerville, a treasured local partner for free pop-up art camps serving kids right here in our community.
- Children’s Home Society, where the Food Pantry and FoodSHARE initiative were born, serving families in crisis across South Florida.
- Operation Mobilization, Mercy Chefs & Compassion International, organizations doing transformational work for children and families around the world.
- NCF (National Christian Foundation), a trusted partner in strategic, accountable charitable giving.
- Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale, where I initiated the food ministry FoodSHARE which was formed to serve the under-resourced, by hand-delivering groceries, home keeping donations, and love directly to families in need.
- Compassion International, a global organization that assists with the alleviation of childhood hunger and poverty.
- Port-au-Prince Orphanage, Haiti, where I organized and led an art camp alongside a volunteer medical team, bringing supplies, creativity, and connection to children in one of the world’s most under-resourced communities.
Giving back through design
When you work with One Coast Design, you’re not just investing in a beautiful home, you’re part of something bigger. A portion of every project and sale flows directly back into Lowcountry community giving efforts and children’s charities near and far. Want to learn more or partner with us? If you are a non-profit or community organization in the Summerville or Charleston area and believe our missions align, I’d love to connect! Reach out through the contact page…let’s create something meaningful together!
Michelle has also worked extensively with ‘Habitat for Humanity’, ‘Operation Mobilization’, ‘Mercy Chefs’, ‘NCF’ (The National Christian Foundation) and ‘Compassion International’. Michelle has also initiated and worked with charities focused on homeless, abused, and neglected children through her art camps and private art lessons, employing color and drawing therapies.
Giving back through donating artwork, providing individualized teaching, and initiating fundraising efforts for Children’s charities across the globe holds a special place in Michelle’s heart. Her desire to volunteer and work with children through her art and through relationships with strategic partners to give back enriches her life beyond measure and therefore gives special meaning to the gifts and talents she has been given.
Michelle and her company, One Coast Design, give back 5% of all sales directly to Children’s Charities and Building Programs in the Southeastern US that are vetted and that meet her strict standards for approved expenditures and resource allocation.
