On December 7^th, 2013 over 30 countries participated in the Help Portrait Movement. Founded in 2008, Help Portrait is a global community of photographers coming together across the world to use photography to give back to people in need. “This is about giving the pictures, not taking them. These portraits are not for photographer portfolios, websites, or for sale. Money isn’t involved here,” Jeremy Cowart, founder of the global movement explains, “This holiday season, they have the chance to give a family something they may have never had before—a portrait together.”

For the third year, the CommunityHealthCenter participated in the event at their New Britain & Middletown sites. Given plenty of time to organize the event, the AmeriCorps members decided to add the New Britain site this year, in the previous two years the event only took place at the Middletown location. To say it was a success, is an understatement. The first year CHC participated in the event, 66 people’s photographs were taken. This year we are proud to say that over 100 families participated in the movement, which equates to over 450 people total! The event would not have been such a success if not for the incredible photographers and make-up artists who volunteered their time this past Saturday. In total, we had 6 professional photographers and 3 make-up artist making the event possible. In the New Britain site, the photographers included Michael Feidler, Ray Gawlak and Helder Mira, with Valerie Gengras working the make-up at the site. In our Middletown location, John Kane, Joe Standart, and Marie Curtis were all gracious enough to volunteer their time on Main Street. Linda McGovern and Azua Echevarria applied the beauty products to all people who participated in Middletown, and did a spectacular job.

It is easy for me to say that Help Portrait 2013 was one of the most remarkable events I have ever been apart of. It’s one thing when someone tells you that the individuals will be very appreciative of something but it’s that much better experiencing this feeling first hand. Every family who participated brought a new optimistic energy into the room and this was steady throughout the day. I even had mothers break down crying while thanking us for holding the event. I could go on and on talking about the successes of Help Portrait 2013, but the only way you get to experience such bliss is by participating in it next year. You can learn more about the movement by going to, http://help-portrait.com/. We have also posted pictures from this past weekend at our Help Portrait Middletown/New Britain Facebook page, you can access it by clicking here (Don’t forget to like our page, as well!!).

If you would like to get in touch with any of these great photographers or make-up artist please feel free to contact me at, [email protected], and I would be more then happy to get you their contact information.