While the Bahamas may bring to mind images of islands with pristine beaches and a feeling of relaxation for many people, for Leona Coakley-Spring that is just half of the picture.

For the Bahamian-born Redmond resident, the picture of her homeland also includes images of the poor and homeless — two things she experienced firsthand at one point of her island life.

“I grew up poor,” she said. “I mean, dirt poor.”

The picture also includes people living with HIV and AIDS, and for 18 years, it has been Coakley-Spring’s mission to do what she can to help those with the disease.

As someone with a performance background, she has put on concerts featuring herself as well as various members of her musical family and recorded and sold CDs; she has also sold Bahamian baked goods at local farmers’ markets as well as some of her paintings — all with proceeds going toward the All Saints AIDS Shelter in Nassau, Bahamas.

Coakley-Spring said the shelter houses up to about 120 people, and currently, there are about 40 children and 60 adults living there. She said some of the residents are HIV positive, while others have full-blown AIDS. There are also situations in which there are adults who have the disease and their children do not, but the children also have to stay there to be with their parents.

Recently, Coakley-Spring expanded her philanthropic work by opening From Rags to Riches, a consignment store located at 16648 Redmond Way in downtown. The store opened earlier this month and features women’s clothes and accessories for both casual and dressier occasions. Coakley-Spring said 25 percent of the proceeds will go toward the Bahamian AIDS shelter.

From Rags to Riches is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Many of the more formal pieces in the store are from Coakley-Spring’s personal collection, dresses and gowns she purchased for concert performances. She said some of the outfits were only worn once or a couple times, while others have not been worn at all and still have their original tags.

Coakley-Spring stressed that at her store, they are not asking for donations — although she will accept them. She said they are a business and they are selling goods customers will hopefully want to buy anyway. The 25 percent comes out of the proceeds and is just something good that comes out of her sales, she said.

Coakley-Spring’s work for All Saints is through Terrylee Ministry, a nonprofit organization she and her husband formed in 2001. She said she has been raising money and sending it to the shelter since she first learned about it in 1999 and forming a nonprofit just makes it easier and cuts through much of the paperwork and red tape.

Coakley-Spring learned about the AIDS shelter when she went home for a visit in 1999. She met a local reverend — Rev. Nottage — who was working with the shelter. The shelter was only a few months old at that point and he asked Coakley-Spring to help him in spreading awareness for HIV and AIDS education throughout the country.

Because Coakley-Spring’s family is well known on the islands — even having a town named after them — her support on the issue held a good amount of weight.

As for Coakley-Spring’s familiarity with HIV and AIDS at that time, she said her family more or less took in a former coworker of hers when she taught at a beauty school in Seattle. The coworker had AIDS and had essentially been shunned by his family. When she learned similar things were happening in the Bahamas and about All Saints, Coakley-Spring wanted to help.

From Rags to Riches is just one more way she is working to help those in her home country, and while she had many doubters when she first let people know about her idea, Coakley-Spring had faith and knew she would not be deterred. She knew she had to at least try and when things fell into place, she took her chance.

“When you grow up poor,” Coakley-Spring said, “you grab whatever falls in your lap.”