Category Archives: Giving Back

gifts that grow | houston photographer

There are only a few more days until Christmas is here. People have shifted into their frantic holiday mode and seem to have tunnel vision (no, maybe not all of them, but a lot!).

This will likely be my last post before Christmas so I thought I’d post a few little things I’ve found in the last few months. I love buying from charities and organizations that have a purpose behind them. IF you’re in a jam and can’t figure out a gift to give someone, perhaps think of any one of these. Any one of them is a gift that grow, whether it’s message can grow in someone’s heart, help someone on the other side of the world thrive, or grow spiritually…

 

Help give a child in Bubanza an education by purchasing a desk for them! Click the image below to read a beautiful story about how life is changing for students there!

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I somehow came acros Sevenly.org earlier this year. Every week they feature a new t-shirt and a new organization to raise funds for. Through the sales of their t-shirts, they’ve helped little girls enslaved in sex-trafficking, helped give children education, helped to give water wells to people in need. I love what they are doing and I love wearing their tees while they do it :) Mostly, I love that part of my purchase helps to change the world, one tee at a time!

 

 

 

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Samaritan’s Purse offers a wonderful option in their gift catalog. You can purchase a gift of an animal for food, clothing and education for a family or child in need in a foreign country.

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This year, the kids and I looked over the hundreds of children that are currently in the Compassion Sponsorship program, and we all chose our first compassion child, Oscar. The kids are very excited to learn about Oscar and to pray for him. Sponsoring through Compassion will help Oscar to learn about God and the bible, provide medical check-ups, nutritional food , tutoring, school uniforms and more.

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Walk In Love is a company whose message I love. They have great t-shirts with wonderful messages and, well, again, I just love the message they send” Walk In Love. If anything, it’s a little reminder for me as I go about my day.

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Clean water means a brighter future, less disease…Hope. For a gift as small as $25, you help give the gift of life and growth by giving them clean water. Water.org helps you do just that by offering many different ways you can contribute, weather just a donation or purchasing a water bottle or t-shirt.

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This summer I bought a watch from Hello Somebody. It’s light blue and stands out. It’s an eye-catcher. But what’s more is that it’s an opportunity to talk about this organization and what purchasing the watch actually did: Feed people! Hello Somebody’s mission is this: Hello Somebody exists to feed and educate children, by providing an avenue of knowledge, in order to break the cycle of poverty and hunger within their generation. You can purchase t-shirts, watches, hoodies and more and while you do, you help to feed people.

So, that’s my list. I hope you take the time to look at and perhaps purchase one thing from at least one of these stores!

Care to share any organizations or charities that you contribute to? I’m always on the lookout!

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kids cows & cancer | houston children’s photography

One of the most important things I’ve learned as a photographer is that my photos make a difference. But even more important is that I use this gift to make a difference, to show people what’s going on outside our little boxes. As I grow as a photographer, the draw to capture raw and real and important issues grows in me.

Last week I was lucky enough to be asked to accompany the Layla Grace Foundation on a trip to Texas Children’s Hosptal. Together with Cypress’s Chick-Fil-A team of managers and cows, we walked the halls and campus of the hospital bring joy to everyone we met. It was such a blessing to see honest joy from children and their parents as we walked around taking photos and passing out goodies. Even more of a blessing to sit and chat and give some of these kids (the older ones especially) someone to talk to, to have a sense of normalcy. Most of these kids live in the hospital sometimes weeks at a time and the only people they talk to are their families and nurses. The first boy I met was probably around 15 or 16, wasn’t feeling well at all, but just wanted someone there with him. This was one of the best days I’ve ever had and I want to go back and just hang out.

Here are a few photos from our trip. You can see the rest here.

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a walk in the woods | Houston Christmas Photos

We’d originally scheduled our session sometime in August, but I’m so happy that we ended up moving it to late September. The air may have only been a few degrees cooler, but it felt a LOT cooler. Which is always a plus for family photos in Houston, TX! We had a fantastic time walking through the woods and seeing the nature all around us. And these sweet little girls are gorgeous and so much fun to hang out with!

Mama, sorry your sneak peek has taken so long! It’s been a bit crazy around here this last week, but I do hope you enjoy the photos of your beautiful family below! Thanks so much for supporting Ryan’s Lions!!

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a taste of cy-fair benefitting the Layla Grace Children’s Cancer Research Foundation

Whewie! Is that a long title or what?!

If you were in Cypress this weekend, chances are you’d either heard about this wonderful event or you were there eating along side the other attendees. They’re not quite sure yet what the total amount of people who attended is, but let me just tell you, there were a LOT of peeps there! While I was there working as the official photographer for the Layla Grace Children’s Cancer Research Foundation, I have to say it was a great success! So many wonderful local businesses came out to show support and showcased their products and the restaurants provided some great tastes for folks to try. The silent auction and raffle items were amazing! Cypress is a great place to be when you have people that are so willing to help a cause such as this! Can’t wait for next year’s event! Here are a few photos from the day…

 

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A Taste of Cy-Fair | Cy-Fair Family Photographer

If you’re local, I’m sure you’ve been hearing about this wonderful event to help benefit the Layla Grace Children’s Cancer Research Foundation. This is the first event hosted by the foundation and they are so excited about all of the wonderful locals that are participating! From restaurants to crafters and everything in-between, this event is going to be huge! Check here to see all of the people and business’ participating!

Alongside the many people helping to benefit the foundation, I am offering up a fabulous raffle item

 

Want to pre-purchase some raffle tickets before the event? Click the boxes below to choose the amount of tickets you’d like to purchase and your raffle stubbs will be mailed directly to you!

   

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