giving back...

back in december i ran a cans for comments campaign. the purpose...comments = cans...resulting in equivalent donations to a local food shelter. in the end, i translated my cans to dollars and rounded the total up to $100.

some good friends decided to match my contribution. mike contributed to moveable feast. scott gave me a $100 cash to tack on to wherever i was donating. thanks so much guys!

i have been deliberating over where to donate for quite some time. jennifer (a friend/co-worker of scott's) made me aware of a philly charity....back on my feet...that is starting up a pilot program in baltimore. one look at their website and i was blow away by the unique approach and the amazing effort in progress.

i found my charity!

that being said, i took my $100 and scott's $100...tacked on another $50 to make it nice and round....and made a donation. i'm hoping whoever reads this might take a minute or two to check out back on my feet and decide to donate whatever they can to the cause...whether it be time, money...or in my case...photography.

i'm running an active campaign to support the baltimore chapter HERE.

any local yocals that have an interest in attending the kick-off meeting, please check out the evite HERE. hope to see you there.

thanks everyone!

back on my feet

if you're feeling charitable or looking for a great cause to become a part of, please check out this pilot program getting ready to start up in baltimore.

a kick-off happy hour is scheduled at 6PM on wednesday, 28Jan08, at coburn's tavern & grill.

check out the evite here and hopefully i'll see you there!

cans for comments final tally

the final comment tally for the cans for comments campaign is 66. because i'm a pretty simple guy and especially because i like round numbers....i'm going to round up to 100 :)

i want to thank everyone who participated. it's small efforts like these that really go a long way.

i hope you'll continue to play an active roll in your community and tune in periodically to the happenings on my blog(s).

cheers!

warmth for the homeless

today i was able to provide some photo coverage for constellation energy. the company is collecting blankets, coats, gloves, hats, etc...for local shelters. this time of year, these items are essentials for anyone who has the misfortune of being on the streets.

given the economy & recent lay-offs...it was really amazing to see the number of donations from employees. here are a few shots from the sorting/counting....

cans for comments....last day

53 comments and counting.

thru the end of today, i'll be donating 1 can for every comment received on any blog post....on either of my blogs. if you haven't seen my other one, you can find it here.

please share this with friends & family and participate.

i have received a number of unsolicited offers to match the final totals. how incredible is that?

thanks to everyone that has joined the campaign!

cans for comments update....

34 comments and counting. Thanks to everyone who has stopped by and left a note. Your comments = cans for a local shelter in Baltimore. I truly appreciate your support in this cause and hope you'll continue to participate in my blog(s) going forward.

This campaign continues thru Monday, so please continue to join in and share this with friends and family.

Thanks so much!

Cans for Comments

Tis the season. I won't take credit for coming up with the idea, but when I heard about it I wish that I had. For every comment that I receive on my blog (between now and 15Dec08), I will donate 1 can of food to a local shelter in Baltimore.

So browse around. Check out my world. Leave a comment on any post that you'd like and I'll be tallying up the totals and sharing them with you on 16Dec08. Please note, this includes my Drive-bys blog as well.

Spread the word & share the cheer.

Thanks so much for helping out! From my family to yours....have a great holiday season!

Cheers,

John

Cool Kids Campaign

Today, I was extremely fortunate to be a part of the Cool Kids Campaign ... http://www.bfpf.org/cool-kids-campaign/index.shtml ... at Hillendale Country Club ... http://www.hillendalecc.com/ . I took a day of vacation from my day job to support a great cause. I'm so glad that I did!

Thru-out the sweltering heat, I shadowed an awesome photographer , Rich Dennison ... http://www.richdennisonphoto.com/ . This guy is really good! He mentored me on the cause , introduced me to the founders and detailed the coverage he provides. I could not have asked to be paired up with a better person. Rich is passionate, fun and patient. I really enjoyed watching him work and appreciated all of his advice. I look forward to working with him and the Cool Kids Campaign in the future.

The charity world is a new venture for me, so the appropriate etiquette for coverage was unknown territory. I found myself observing more than shooting. For whatever reason, the shy side of me takes over until I'm comfortable in the element. This experience was a valuable one.

A number of local celebrities were a part of the event. It was great to see that level of support. No egos. No attitudes. Real people...supporting a worthy initiative. Having a child, I can't fathom anything ever happening to her. To hear the stories and see the faces of those impacted by cancer made me realize how fortunate Sara and I are to have a healthy child. For those that don't...they need every ounce of support that people are willing to spare.

I managed to muster a little courage and snap off a few rounds. Take a look...