I believe that the month of December is a wonderful month. I love the effort people put into the holidays, however I also believe that we unintentionally or subconsciously become self orientated. We look forward to seeing OUR family and friends, to making OUR homes festive, buying gifts for OUR families and I am very guilty of this one…anticipating what is under the tree with OUR name on. Sometimes around the holidays we hear how someone has had some misfortune and we have a moment of compassion for them but do we ever take it any farther than that? Most of the time no.
Last year I gave away a session over the holidays. Not because I wanted to help someone out or do something good…I just felt festive. Soon after I posted about my contest I found out about Giving is Awesome. It occurred to me that my little contest could hold more impact in someone’s life than just a random drawing of a name. I decided that I would be apart of Giving is Awesome in 2009. When the time approached to start thinking about giving, Alleisha and I both decided we wanted to give and we will both participate.
What is Giving is Awesome?
Giving is Awesome is a simple effort by photographers worldwide to give back to their communities. Regional contests are sponsored by photographers across the globe. Each photographer is encouraged to give both a session fee and a generous amount of portrait product (typically $1000 or more) to a worthy individual or family this holiday season. Giving a smaller portrait gift to the person who does the nominating of the winner is also strongly encouraged. You can visit the Giving is Awesome website HERE.
So here are the details.
You know someone. You know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can’t afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family’s spirit, love, and beauty.
You know someone. I guarantee it.
We want to know who they are, and we want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography — $1300 worth, to be exact. The winner will receive their session and the ‘Love Bird’ portrait collection.
Here is a twist to our Giving is Awesome contest. Instead of having one contest with one winner we will be having one contest with two winners…one winner for Nicole and one winner for Alleisha. That’s a total of $2600 in portrait goodness for two deserving families from Crimson Chickadee Photography.
Oh, and the person who nominates the winner receives a $50 print credit.
The rules:
* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing our services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)
* The nominee must reside in Alberta. They must also have transportation to the studio for their session. Tell us who you know, what they’re experiencing, and why they deserve our artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.
*Nominees cannot be relatives of any employee of Crimson Chickadee Photography…but they can nominate someone:)
* You must e-mail me the full story : givingisawesome@crimsonchickadeephotography.com
The deadline for entries is 6:00 p.m. December 24, 2009.
The winner will be announced on Christmas Day — get nominating! We can’t wait to read all of your entries!
Open your heart to someone this holiday season — and thanks for giving us the opportunity to open ours.
{hugs}
Nicole and Alleisha
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