Every day I wake up feeling so blessed with the life I’ve been given and I try very hard not to take it for granted. I’ll never forget one day when I was in college I thought about I the things I could be when I grow up and I was bummed that I was going into a profession where I would never have an impact on people’s lives. My sister was a neo-natal intensive care nurse and she would play a part in saving babies. It really bothered me… I thought if I die tomorrow, I won’t have really helped change the world in any way.
Don’t get me wrong, the charitable work I do now is not changing the world. I was treated for scoliosis at Children’s Hospital here in Richmond as a child. After I started my business I started thinking about how I could donate my gifts and talents to help those in need. I remembered as a child walking into the waiting room of Children’s Hospital and seeing some of the severe disabilities the children there faced and thought that would be a meaningful place to start. I picked up the phone and called the hospital and left a message and said that if there was ever a need for photography, I would love to donate my services. The chaplin of the hospital and I decided we would do “school portraits” of the long-term care children. These kids will never leave the hospital. The parents had never had “real” portraits of their children. This event was a big hit and we try to do it each year or two.
My hope is that contibuting to a cause to fund research for SIDS, helping to launch an organization that will help teens facing unwanted pregancies and eating disorders and bringing a little bit of peace to parents that have lost newborn babies that I will not only make a difference in others’ lives, but fill me up in a way that can only be achieved by giving.
Below are several of the organizations that are near and dear to my heart. Other groups I support include Meal on Wheels, Comfort Zone Camp, Annabelle’s Angels, American Heart Assoc. and many other local organizations and schools.
no comments