{Give} | Summer Mini-Sessions
I am blessed with two healthy children. They have had a cough and a fever, but they've never really been sick. I've never truly worried about their health, their lives, or their long-term well being. I do not know what it is like to sit by and watch my baby in a hospital bed. And I pray that I never have to. Unfortunately, there are many mothers who do exactly that. One of my friends is in a difficult situation right now and could use your prayers....and maybe a little more. You may remember my little friend, Joshua. I blogged a bit about his story when I took his 1st Birthday Cake Smash portraits. He was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes just before I took these photos for his first birthday.
His diagnosis came after a scary time, an ER visit, and a week long hospital stay. His parents and his big brother now have a new "normal", a new lifestyle. They have become very good at algebra - having to calculate down to the decimal point what he eats and how to dose insulin. That means multiple injections a day. On a baby. And if that stress were not enough, they are struggling to pay the medical bills associated with the hospital stay and all the equipment, test strips, needles, etc. that it takes to keep Joshua healthy. Not just healthy....alive. This is not an optional plan for him, it is life as he knows it and will be forever. As his mother put it, "insulin is his life support". He will have Diabetes for the rest of his life.
But folks, that's not even the bad news. Joshua's daddy (incidentally, diabetic himself) is a speech therapist whose contract with his company recently ended. He interviewed for and was hired in a local public school system, but that job and the health benefits do not start until the fall. September at best, October is more likely. That means about three months with no health insurance. For most of us, that is a scary prospect. For this family, it is a devastating scenario. Joshua's mommy is a Creative Memories consultant and his daddy is currently working three part-time jobs to pay their basic living expenses (food, mortgage, car payments, etc.) and because of his three-part-time-job-income, they do not qualify for most of the government assistance programs. They are currently signed up for health insurance temporarily through COBRA....for $2000 a month. That's right, basic medical care to keep this child alive is two thousand dollars a month. My jaw hit the floor - did yours?
I want to help them. And I need your help to give this family a little, tiny bit of hope. Some light at the end of the tunnel, perhaps. I would love to be able to wipe away their medical bills - the part that is still unpaid from the hospital stay in February and the summer of incredible expense while they wait for their new insurance to kick in. But I can't wipe it away on my own. So, I'm asking for your help. I would like to offer to you (and your friends!) special mini-sessions including a CD of images if you will help donate to this family's medical expenses.
A $100 Donation will get you a 20 minute mini-session yielding 7-10 retouched images on CD. A $175 Donation will get you a 45 minute session yielding 10-15 retouched images on CD.
Want a few gorgeous photos of your family or updated images of the kids? Haven't had pictures of you and your husband since your wedding? We can do a mini-couples session! Have a friend who is pregnant? Give her the gift of a mini-maternity session! Heck, I'll even do a mini-senior portrait session for your upcoming 2011 Graduate! OR - you could be a double-gifter and buy a session for a friend's family - then you're giving to TWO families with one gift! :)
Mini-sessions will be held on Sunday, August 1st, 2010 on the campus of Regent University (off Indian River Road) in Virginia Beach. I will do as many as I can fit in the day from 8am-8pm - you pick your preferred window of time when you fill out the session agreement form (below).
Please know that I am keeping none of the money. EVERY CENT of the profits will go to the Davis Family and their medical bills.
To see the details and reserve your mini-session:
Step 1: Click on this link and fill out the Special Portrait Agreement with your contact information. (Be sure to read through the terms carefully and give all the required info!)
Step 2: Submit your donation by clicking through PayPal below.
Step 3: I will send you a confirmation e-mail with your specific mini-session time in about a week. Then, I'll see you on August 1st!
**UPDATE: The 'choose shipping' option is not working. It will only allow me to add the shipping to all orders. So, if you do NOT want to pay the $2.50 shipping for your CD, please submit your donation directly to kimberlin.gray@gmail.com instead of clicking through the PayPal button above. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Please post this to your Facebook Wall to spread the word - especially if you know Shannon, Brian, Jackson and Joshua. They can use all the support we can give them!
Thank you so very much, from the bottom of my heart! Oh, and doesn't it feel good to GIVE?
~Amanda