WOW!!!
All I can say is THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH to every single person, family, couple who signed up for a Front Porch Session during the months of April & May! I was so encouraged to see so many reach out and even more encouraged by the donations of everyone!!!
Together we raised over $400 for local charities in Lethbridge such as the Food Bank, Streets Alive, and My City Care!
My heart for this project started after seeing several other photographers across North America do a similar thing. Some were doing it a little differently but @wearebelovedfilms (Instagram) had organized the fundraiser through a local missions organization in downtown Vancouver and I thought that was an incredible idea – especially given that these times have been such a set back for everyone. I recognized a lot of support for local charities had in some ways been dropped once people realized their income would be changing and even in-person volunteering would become less and less. Therefore I’m so stoked to know that even if we weren’t involved personally with these charities we had the opportunity to support them in an even more desperate time financially.
If I’m being honest I wrestled a lot whether I should go forward with this idea as I had seen some negative reactions other photographers doing it were receiving and I didn’t want to overstep boundaries (literally) or make people feel like I didn’t care about the COVID guidelines. I told myself and each person who reached out for the photos, that I would ensure proper social distancing and communication. I’m grateful for front porches that allow us to do that 🙂 I truly believe that doing this project was an opportunity to spark a little more joy for those involved and to serve as a memory for the future, of both the special and odd time we are living in!
Now I’m able to get back to regular outdoor sessions (for the most part) and I’m so grateful for that and the chance to truly create in my own style again. However, I’m even more thankful for the chance to have helped people capture a memory in the last couple of months, and to be able to be a part of something that served our community where it was needed.
I’m looking forward to a summer full of creative sessions with my clients and celebrating as we hopefully continue to walk slowly out of these crazy times!
