It’s hard to believe that another school year has come and gone and we are now into summer break! So it seems a little odd to be making a photo announcement about a grant that I won way back in August but hang with me. It all has come full circle and ties directly to my recent announcement about Camp Cherished, a summer camp for girls ages 9-12. If you didn’t get a chance to read about it, I would encourage you to check out this blog post about it!

So let’s rewind back to August of last year, as we were just getting ready for the school year. With three children all in the same school, I had 3 separate lists of school supplies to buy for them, and it was LONG! To have a little fun with the sheer amount of Target runs and orders needed to fulfill all of the items on their lists, I decided to do a little photoshoot as part of my #motherhoodandminivans series. I take a lot of self portraits for self expression, so I took a few as well as involved some with my family and kids. As you can see, we all had a great time!

At the same time, Sony Alpha Female was announcing their next theme for their weekly grant program, in which they choose a weekly theme and photographers can submit a photo for the contest. If chosen, the winner receives a small grant to do with as they please. As it just so happens, that week the theme was back to school. I submitted the self portrait pictured and won!

And here’s where it comes full circle. Immediately, I knew what I would be putting the money towards: The Cherished Project. Shortly after winning, I contacted a graphic designer to help me with a logo for the project, and also started to look at how I could start with a pilot program. The young ladies (and moms) you see in the video below graciously agreed to be a part of the pilot and for the last several months I’ve been building the program through monthly meetings with them. While the Sony award and accolades are nice, the real prize is getting to use it for a project that I’ve had a heart for and have been thinking about for so long!

Award winning image kickstarts Camp Cherished