It’s our last call for Photography for a Cause! We are closing the galleries on April 30…which means you only have a couple of days left to shop and support organizations like Shepherd’s Crossing and Thirst Relief! Imagine the people in our own community and across thousands of miles you can support with the simple purchase of a portrait.

In case you haven’t had an opportunity yet to browse my galleries, you can view and order fine art photography like this ::

Help us as we serve to help others….and receive beautiful photography for your home too!

It’s our big day! Photography for a Cause goes live…and while we’re all terribly excited, we’re holding our breath a bit too, crossing our fingers and hoping that you enjoy our work and want to help support our chosen organizations.

I’ve chosen two charities that directly impact the quality of lives in our community and halfway around the world. Shepherd’s Crossing is my chosen local organization. Their work began with the ministry of several local churches involved with the Manhattan Ministerial Association who wished to support individuals in our community who needed assistance with rent, utilities and prescription medications. With services offered to residents of Riley County and St. George, families are able to receive budget assistance, counseling and financial support for basic necessities.

The other organization I’ve chosen to benefit is Thirst Relief International. One BILLION people lack access to clean drinking water — something that you and I might take for granted as we let the water run while we brush our teeth or watch the kiddos run through the sprinkler on a hot summer day. Over 2.5 million people die each year because of lack of access to clean water. For less than $5, we can provide clean drinking water to a person for life. Thirst Relief is the concept of Jim Davis-Hicks, wedding photographer, and with the support of Mike Colon and other photographers, has gained support in Grace Ormonde Wedding Style magazine. A team of photographers visited Tanzania for two weeks in 2009, built water filters, photographed a story for Grace Ormonde :: you can read participant Melissa Jill’s story about it here. After seeing their presentation at WPPI last spring I have known in my heart that this would be an incredible organization that makes a huge impact.

(image provided by Thirst Relief)

It can take so little to lend a hand to another. So little. Which is why Photography for a Cause is an awesome reason to give! Your portrait purchases from our fine art galleries support these causes and can help others to have some of the same basic necessities of life as you and I do. Take a peek at the galleries (and a big bonus — you can order right from them!) and help support these worthy causes!

And here are a couple of images in my galleries ::

Happy Friday–and happy shopping!

I haven’t posted recently about my latest philanthropic work because I’ve been ramping up for something big… really really BIG. I’ve feverishly working behind the scenes for several charitable organizations that I feel pretty strongly for, creating event logos, save the dates, posters, event materials, and much more. I have great emotional ties to the organizations I contribute my time for, and am pretty excited to introduce this one to you (if you haven’t heard about it yet).

Chris Hsieh of La Brisa Photography came up with a fantastic concept a couple of years ago :: for the entire month of April, to sell our fine art photographs with profits going to our desired local and national/international non-profits organizations and charities. Photography for a Cause began in 2009 with humble expectations, but the overwhelming support has raised $1,009 (2009) and $1,500 (2010) to contribute to amazing charities. This year, the effort has grown to include several other photographers, including me (hooray!), ericamay photography, Scott Bean Photography, Luke Townsend Photography, and Anobel Odisho. Our goal is to collaboratively raise $3,000 this month.

So. A worthy event like this needs a worthy logo! Chris and I had a few discussions about what he felt like his identification should look like, and he was intrigued by the idea of a rubber stamp. So, ideas flowed and the following identification is the result for the event ::

We would be honored with your support! The event kicks off TOMORROW, April 1 and will run the entire month of April. Tomorrow I’ll be posting a sneak peek of my fine art gallery and the organizations I’m benefiting for the event. In the meantime, you can learn more on our Facebook page!

What a great time at Grand Mère Village this past weekend! A huge thanks to everyone who came out and helped kick off the holiday season. Santa was amazing (as always) and we photographed TONS of beautiful families. Here’s a peek at a few of them!

I’m also happy to share that a percentage of the proceeds for the event will benefit the Flint Hills Breadbasket :: the need is so, so great right now and we can help make the holidays a little brighter for another family. Just another way we’re paying it forward in our community!

His time here, too short.

In his weeks on this earth, Colgin left a huge impression on the hearts of many, even though his own heart needed healing. A congenital condition made him a beautiful, smiling angel to the Lohman family a few short weeks after he was born in 2001.

Colgin’s family carries his spirit with them in everything they do. And each year, around his birthday, the family has organized a memorial golf tournament to celebrate his life and raise funding for a room in his honor at Mercy Regional Health Center. Over the past eight years, the event has raised nearly $50,000.

The 2011 event is a milestone one for the Lohman family and the tournament. June 19, 2011 marks Colgin’s tenth birthday :: and to mark the occasion, the family has planned an extra-special weekend to celebrate, remember, and honor Colgin. As such, a special person like this needs a special identification, and I was honored to be asked to create a logo that helped to memorialize Colgin and everything he means to the Lohman family. I’m proud to share Colgin’s logo and to pay it forward in a small way to the Lohmans ::

Here’s also more information about the June 2011 event, to be held at Prairiewood Retreat and Wamego Country Club ::

This coming Saturday, June 5, will mark the ninth annual event. If you’re in the area and would like to attend, you may register your team and find out more information here.

Watch for another PIF this week to come, too!

We walk.

Big steps. Little steps.

We put one foot in front of the other because we know that with each step, we are one inch closer to a cure.

We walk for Multiple Sclerosis.

I’ve talked about Tracie on the blog before. Where we met. The ongoing, kindred conversations we’ve had since — over Twitter, on email, our blogs. Our recent, delightful rendezvous in Las Vegas. Not long after Tracie and I met, she was diagnosed with a syndrome linked as a precursor to MS. (Sorry for being so link-happy…you can read more about it here.) And above all of the challenges that her physical body may face due to MS, her spirit absolutely shines.

Saturday, we walked for her. And for another family member of mine with MS. And thousands of others who may find hope and comfort in the support that the MS Society provides.

Even though Little Man and I couldn’t be with Tracie and her amazing tribe of supporters, I wanted to help. And making a donation didn’t seem like enough, so we participated in our local walk on Saturday morning at the zoo. Members of the community came out, a couple hundred strong :: and it was powerful. Inspiring. Hearing stories of those who are living each day with their symptoms. How encouraging the new research is.

We had a beautiful, beautiful morning ::

I highly encourage you to see if there’s a local event coming up in your area. It was a fantastic experience, and I definitely look forward to participating again.

One of the organizations I so wholeheartedly support turns five this weekend. For five years, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep has given countless gifts families with the ability to cherish and remember a child.

In celebration of the organization’s fifth anniversary, NILMDTS is kicking off a $5 donation drive. That’s it. One less Starbucks venti vanilla soy latte. (ahem.) One very small sacrifice can give one more family an enormous gift, completely beyond words.

I hope you’ll find it in your heart to share $5, and you may do so here. Additionally, $5 from all sessions booked during the month of April will be donated to help families heal their hearts from such unexpected and difficult loss.