Fitness for a Cure '08

I had the privilege of photographing Fitness for the Cure to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital last weekend. You might recall that my stepmother Paula is involved with this group and I photographed this event in 2006. I was unable to attend the 2007 event so I was excited to see how much the group had grown in two years!

Fitness for the Cure is the brainchild of Sherri Laffey Sarrouf, a fitness instructor at Gold's Gym, wife and mother of two (I photographed her children's holiday card portrait). She has no professional dance training, but 9 years ago she organized a group of friends who liked hip-hop and decided to spread their fitness message to those in need. The group has grown to include school children and adults, and they meet once a week to practice.

Each year they have a formal show, both in the afternoon for kids (with ice cream, coloring and tattoos) and in the evening (with a formal dinner, silent and live auctions). This is the second year that they have performed in both Nashua, NH, and Andover, MA. The Andover show raised $132,000 and the Nashua show is later this month. Sherri is $170,000 away from reaching her goal of having raised $1 million for St. Jude's! If you would like more information on how to donate, **click here.**

You can get a better sense of the day by clicking **here** to view the slideshow. But I'll post a few images as well:

This is Sherri. She has the most kind soul...

... and killer abs!

All of the dance routines are high energy, and include lots of fun moves!

When not on stage, the other performers cheer their fellow dancers on (second from the right, front, is Sherri's daughter Elizabeth).

The younger kids all wore Red Sox hats in one number. I loved this little boy waiting for the music with his Boston hat, St. Jude shirt, and hope angel necklace.

Sharing the love.

Getting low.

Waiting their turn.

The day included a Locks of Love hair cutting.

This is John Moses, the CEO of ALSAC (the fund-raising organization of St. Jude). A lawyer by trade, Mr. Moses is passionate about sharing the importance of St. Jude.


A few facts about St. Jude's:
- The daily operating cost is $1,267,349.00.
- 85.3% of every dollar received goes directly to the hospital.
- St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where no child is ever denied treatment because of the family's inability to pay.
- St. Jude has developed protocols that have helped push survival rates for childhood cancers from less than 20% to more than 70% overall.

Photographers: I encourage you to volunteer your talent to an organization that might not have the funds to hire a professional. The slideshow I put together from the 2006 show brought in a lot of additional money for this charity simply by passing a url around to friends and family via emails. I also donated portrait sessions for this silent auction as well as a St. Jude benefit through my local Pottery Barn. One person can make a difference!

the pink list

In the spirit of emilie inc.'s Pink Initiative that launched earlier this week, I'd like to share a few ways you can support breast cancer research and education.

Give:
National Breast Cancer Foundation
Susan G. Komen Foundation
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Do:
Donate your wedding dress to Brides Against Breast Cancer
Get a Maine breast cancer license plate in October
Buy breast cancer awareness postage stampsWear a pink ribbon
Click here every day to grant someone a free mammogram
Make a quilt
Host a wine tasting party
Watch The Breast Cancer Diaries
Participate in the 2008 Boobie-Thon
Read The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
Host a tea party
Visit Jacki Donaldson's website and leave a comment that you're proud of her
Plant some pink tulips
Add the pink ribbon application to your Facebook profile
Mark your calendar for the Portland Ballet's Dance for the Cure in October

Get going:
Maine's First Annual Tri for a Cure triathlon
Avon Walk
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk
Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day

Shop:
2008 V-6 Warriors in Pink Ford Mustang
Lace up for the Cure collection by New Balance
ToeGoz breast cancer flip-flops
WrightSock pink ribbon socks
Pink yoga mat by matsmatsmats.com
Pink ribbon yoga gym bag by New Balance
Cook for the Cure by KitchenAid
Riedel pink stemmed wine glass
Christmas ornaments
breast cancer keychain by Coach
Estee Lauder pink ribbon collection
Garden Paper stationery
3M pink Post-It notes

Indulge:
Simply Divine Heavenly Brownies Awareness Brownie
Pink & white M&Ms
Enjoy a Yoplait yogurt and save your lid

Share:
Remind a friend to do a self-breast exam each month with WCSH Channel 6's Buddy-to-Buddy program
Share your story on breastcancerstories.com
Start a blog

National resources:
American Cancer Society
National Breast Cancer Coalition
BreastCancer.org
TheBreastCancerSite.com
HealingWell.com

Local resources:
Maine Breast Cancer Coalition
Maine Cancer Foundation
Breast Care Center at Maine Medical Center

perfect pricing™ Pink Initiative

I am excited to formally announce the implementation of emilie inc.'s perfect pricing™ Pink Initiative.

As you know, perfect pricing™ is the à la carte pricing structure I created for my wedding packages (in addition to a base creative fee, clients add the elements they want to customize their wedding photography coverage-- an engagement session, digital negatives, an album, etc.). In a period where people are often over-scheduled and short on time to give of themselves, I thought it most appropriate to commit a percentage of each wedding creative fee to breast cancer research. The charity I have chosen is The National Breast Cancer Foundation.**"The (NBCF) extends women's lives through education about breast cancer and early detection. The organization provides hope to women and families affected by breast cancer through a community of caring support and encouragement that enables those diagnosed with breast cancer to have fulfilling lives during their treatment and afterward." ~NBCF mission statement

The idea for the Pink Initiative is a personal one. 17 years ago last week, my mother's best friend Donna passed away from breast cancer. I was 12 years old then and can still recall visiting Donna in the hospital as if it were yesterday, watching as my mother carefully fed her lunch in bed and later applied her lipstick. It was my first experience losing someone to this disease and Donna's legacy has always been the motivation behind my involvement in breast cancer activities.

Donna's life has touched mine in another profound way, as well. In their sorrow, my mom and Donna's husband Steve helped each other in their shared grief and developed a friendship that eventually turned to love. Steve and my mom married, and I am blessed with a stepfather who I have long admired for his kindness, strength and compassion.

For many years since I have volunteered both time and money to breast cancer charities (including several walks, the most notable being the Avon 3-day, 60 mile walk from Baltimore to Washington, DC, in 2002 with my dear friend Andrea). I currently volunteer locally for the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and Daffodil Days, and Komen's Race for the Cure.

I encourage you all to make time or give money to a charity that you are passionate about. If you would like to see where your favorite charity ranks in the use of its funds, check out the Charity Navigator, a very helpful service, by **clicking here.**

**Although the NBCF is the only charity that will benefit from the Pink Initiative, emilie inc. also gives annually to St. Jude's Children's Hospital and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

eye sight for insight

I received this excellent thank you gift from liveBooks for speaking at their booth at PPE. What a cool idea, huh? I'm touched. Be sure to check out the Seva Foundation website and see what great things they're up to if you are not familiar with the organization. My pleasure, liveBooks!

(click image to enlarge to read)

Autism & arts

Autism Speaks created a music video of the Five for Fighting song, "World", which features images of autistic children and their families. The band is generously donating $0.49 to Autism Speaks for each time the video is viewed - the funding goes toward research studies to help find a cure. When you have a moment, please visit the link below to watch the video and pass it along to your friends and family. They are aiming for 10,000 hits, but hopefully we can help them to surpass this goal.

Click here to view it. Over the years I have met and photographed many autistic children and their families. I love when artists lend their celebrity to a good cause.

Charitable giving- update

Thanks to your support, emilie inc. donated more than $400 from a portion of your child & pet portrait sitting fees to the following charities from August, September and October appointments.

The Animal Refuge League
Make-a-Wish Foundation
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

you go, girl!

I certainly don't wish this on anyone! Kudos to Kyle Paxman for making the best of a terrible situation.

Click here to read more.

To donate:
Vermont Children's Aid Society
CARE USA

Charitable giving

emilie inc. proudly supports the following charities and will be donating a percentage of child & pet portrait sitting fees to them from August, September and October appointments:

The Animal Refuge League
Make-a-Wish Foundation
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

update: Fitness for a Cure

Those involved with last weekend's event have been forwarding my slide show url to friends and family, some of whom were not able to attend the event but were inspired to make a donation after viewing the photos! Very cool!

Fitness for a Cure success!

I had the pleasure of photographing Fitness for a Cure in Nashua, NH, last weekend. The event raised over $150,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN!

The afternoon family event featured face painting, ice cream, Locks of Love haircuts, and a fitness show by the St. Jude Performance Team. In the evening there was a formal dinner, silent auction and another show by the performance team. Several patients from the hospital were in town for the day, as well as parents, nurses and the hospital's CEO John Moses.

Please take a moment and look at a slideshow sampling of images from the day: www.emilieinc.net/stjude.

The reaction:
"These are absolutely amazing and thank you so much for your hard work for this event. I sent this around to our entire office and they are amazed by your work. You are extremely talented! Thank you so much for your support."

"Wow Emilie, You are so talented! Words could never explain how awesome the pictures are. You managed to capture all the perfect emotions of the day thru your pictures. I watched the slide show and cried my eyes out on how beautiful the pictures are. These pictures will send a message to all who view on how much we love St. Jude and the St. Jude families will have these forever..."

"I hope you know how much I appreciate your time, energy and talent. It's like God knew you were supposed to be with our team of angels! Emilie thank you so much! I absolutely loved loved the slide show!"

St. Jude's charity event

On Saturday, May 13th I will be photographing Fitness for a Cure, an event to raise money for St. Jude Children's Hospital at the Sheraton Tara in Nashua, NH. If you are interested in attending or being a sponsor, please click on this link: www.fitnessforacure.com.

If you go, be sure and save my page from the program (seen here) for a discount off a future portrait session!