| The Marsah Donner Mother's Day
brunch is an annual event put on by the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless for homeless women and their families. They have a brunch, door prizes, activities for the children, etc. |
| Last year, they organized a group of photographers to donate their time to do portraits. It was a huge success. It all gives these women that have so little or nothing a sense of dignity. This year, I had the chance to do it. |
| I probably shot about 30 families of some sort, one after another. Not much time for posing, no props or anything to use (besides a large rose I brought), and no editing time. Shoot a few, hand the card to a volunteer to print, they hand to another to archive, then back to me to shoot again. |
| It was an amazing day, and the energy they gave back was incredible. Almost all of them were very polite & very thankful, and more than a few blessed us all as they left. I had fun laughing and joking with them, and tried to make them feel welcome. (I'm usually pretty quiet) |
| I think I expected the stereo-typical bum in shabby clothing asking for change that you ignore downtown. Instead I got real people just trying to get thru the day with what they had, and very grateful that we took the time to make them feel human. So many people, so many different situations. Dementia? Lost their job? Abusive relationship? Unlucky circumstances? And all age ranges, all colors. Noone was left out of this unfortunate group. |
| I'm grateful I had the opportunity to
give to charity in a way that used my talents, since I certainly can't afford to donate $.
I'm looking forward to next year. Mmm.... Humble pie, best served warm. |