Put Photoday Back in Schools
Donation protected
On the evening of May 25th a friend brought a news broadcast to my attention that broke my heart. 30 schools in the Duval County area were not able to have a photoday. I couldn't believe I was hearing this and didn't want to believe it was true. It was though as he provided me with this link to the news broadcast about it. No School Picture Day in Jacksonville Urban Core Schools .
As a parent of 3 children, this hit close to home for several reasons, but the idea of not having photos to remember the different milestones of my own children is something that breaks my heart. I'm sure its doing the same to the parents of these children. How disappointing is going to be to these children when one day they have no photos of themselves to remember those days with. How many of us have incredible memories that come flooding back as the result of seeing a single photograph from high school, or reviewing the school yearbook? Imagine not having that opportunity or having those moments recorded by a photographer? These are moments lost forever if there is no one to record them.
No matter the circumstance, these children and parents deserve the basic human dignity of these joys in life. That's why I have reached out to fellow photographers to help me go into these schools in the next couple of weeks to try and save these memories from this school year and maybe create one that will last for a lifetime in saving the school photoday for these children and parents. I'm hoping to raise the 30,000 dollars to cover the expense of providing these photos to the parents and children without cost to them or the schools. Just one $3 donation can put a 5x7 in the hands of these students, and there are 15,000 estimated in these 30 schools.
I fully expect it to cost more than this to cover every student in every school, but if we can at least get the 30,000 to cover prints, then the cost will be greatly reduced to each school, and each family. Ideally, I would love to raise enough to cover photos for every student and maybe have a little left over to cover the expenses of the 30+ photographers that have stepped forward to help with this endeavor before the schools close for summer.
I don't want these families to go without these precious moments in the future, and put a smile back on their mother's faces and joy in their hearts. I get the joy of seeing their faces light up and their parents happy again. They get memories that last for generations. Will you help me make sure that money doesn't stand in the way of this happening for them?
I will never be as grateful for it as they will be, but I will be extremely grateful to you for helping me take this team of photographers into the schools to provide something that means the world to them at no cost to them. Thank you from the core of who I am for helping us.
As a parent of 3 children, this hit close to home for several reasons, but the idea of not having photos to remember the different milestones of my own children is something that breaks my heart. I'm sure its doing the same to the parents of these children. How disappointing is going to be to these children when one day they have no photos of themselves to remember those days with. How many of us have incredible memories that come flooding back as the result of seeing a single photograph from high school, or reviewing the school yearbook? Imagine not having that opportunity or having those moments recorded by a photographer? These are moments lost forever if there is no one to record them.
No matter the circumstance, these children and parents deserve the basic human dignity of these joys in life. That's why I have reached out to fellow photographers to help me go into these schools in the next couple of weeks to try and save these memories from this school year and maybe create one that will last for a lifetime in saving the school photoday for these children and parents. I'm hoping to raise the 30,000 dollars to cover the expense of providing these photos to the parents and children without cost to them or the schools. Just one $3 donation can put a 5x7 in the hands of these students, and there are 15,000 estimated in these 30 schools.
I fully expect it to cost more than this to cover every student in every school, but if we can at least get the 30,000 to cover prints, then the cost will be greatly reduced to each school, and each family. Ideally, I would love to raise enough to cover photos for every student and maybe have a little left over to cover the expenses of the 30+ photographers that have stepped forward to help with this endeavor before the schools close for summer.
I don't want these families to go without these precious moments in the future, and put a smile back on their mother's faces and joy in their hearts. I get the joy of seeing their faces light up and their parents happy again. They get memories that last for generations. Will you help me make sure that money doesn't stand in the way of this happening for them?
I will never be as grateful for it as they will be, but I will be extremely grateful to you for helping me take this team of photographers into the schools to provide something that means the world to them at no cost to them. Thank you from the core of who I am for helping us.
Organizer
Charles Sutton
Organizer
Jacksonville, FL
