Being a family portrait photographer in Brisbane..
and specialising in family portraits I had been wondering for a while how I could use my love of family portraits and contribute to an important cause at the same time.
Then my daughter came home from Mount Maria College with a Project Compassion money box in her hands.
“Maybe you could help Caritas” she suggested.
An idea was born… a portrait-project fund-raising idea..
I was always impressed by Caritas..
and their work in Australia and around the world. I liked the way they help people.
Along with direct assistance, they also deliver education programs on micro business and health initiatives. This vital work helps communities move forward as a whole.
What also impressed me is that Caritas guarantees that a minimum 90% of money raised goes directly to where it is needed. I was encouraged by this high standard.
Setting the ball in motion..
Thinking it might work I got in touch with Trish Ryan from Caritas and we met up to explore the idea a bit more.
The idea was to create a special family portrait pack and donate the proceeds from each pack to Caritas.
We both felt it had potential and decided to give it a try. We set an exciting goal for the project of $10,000.
The family photography project was enthusiastically received and proved to be very popular.
With great excitement we reached the goal in November 2012 by raising $10,000.
Wow the time has flown, and I thank everyone for their support to reach that goal.
We worked together to share the message through the local community.
It’s been lots of fun..
meeting all the local Brisbane families and their adorable children.
It’s also been great knowing the money raised is going to so many special programs.
One example I was introduced to is the Safe Motherhood Program in Bangladesh where local women are trained to be midwives.
These remarkable local women are saving the lives of many babies and mothers with their newly acquired ‘hands-on’ skills.
It was a privilege to meet Julienne who started the Safe Motherhood Project and find out more about the challenges experienced by mums and their babies in Bangladesh.
I learned that the problems arose from a lack of access to up-to-date knowledge. This was causing unnecessary infections and complications for mothers and their babies.
Since the program’s inception, not one life has been lost..
when a ‘Caritas-trained’ midwife was present. This is an exceptional outcome and very close to my heart.
Whilst regularly photographing newborn babies around Brisbane I am constantly reminded how important it is for us to continue working towards reducing these types of preventable problems in the world.
Caritas does so much amazing work both here in Australia and around the world, for me this just feels right.
After reaching the goal last year..
and raising $10,000, we have been invited to continue our work with Caritas and it’s with great pleasure that we’ll be continuing with the project.
A new target of $8,000 has been set and we look forward to this new challenge.
Are you overdue for family portraits?
If Mums and Dads are overdue to have a family portrait taken this really is the perfect opportunity.
It’s a great alternative to going to a local shopping centre and having indoor ones done. Families can have something really delightful created.
These designer portraits will be professionally taken in a natural location by me personally.
These special family portrait packs are limited in numbers and they go fast.
If you would like to support this project by securing a pack for your family please contact me at the photography studio and I can tell you all about it :)
Talk soon!
Margherita :)
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