COMMUNITY
IMAGES FOR SOCIAL CHANGE: GETTING TRULY INVOLVED WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
Photographers, as well as every other creative, should engage in donating their talents and skills to society, especially on behalf of their own local community, when it is the time to help others in distress or bad conditions.
In the case of us, fashion and advertising photographers, who one way or another, enjoy some quite nice perks and benefits as a result of our work, we need to give back even more!
It is for this very reason that over the years, I have committed time, resources, energy, and my visual skills to help different organizations that work tirelessly to provide help and counseling to the under-appreciated, the neglected, and the survivors!
I have worked, and keep working, to provide assistance for kids waiting for adoption, little fellows in the foster care system, wishing and hoping for a better life, and thanks to the work of organizations like the Children's Trust, the Miami and Broward Heart Galleries and Fotomission, we can do some portraits of these kids, and at least offer them a better chance to find a family that will take care of them.
Just recently I got the news that one of the kids I photographed last year just got adopted, and he is now happily living in his new home and new family, starting a brand new life! The feeling is overwhelming!
On the other end of the story, the "Flashes of Hope" Non Profit organization has committed to providing some partial relief to parents with kids with terminal cancer, and we volunteer to do portraits of these beautiful creatures and their parents, before their brief time in this planet is sadly over.
I have also contributed with images to the Life Alliance program of the University of Miami Organ Donor Program, and have photographed several people of all ages, from kids to grandparents, who have nicely survived organ transplant surgery, and their portraits are used to encourage people to donate their organs.
Amazingly, through fashion photography, I have been able to donate my skills for Breast Cancer Campaigns and helping AIDS initiatives, both in South Florida and Latin America.
I am also a member of the Volunteer Match Program, to provide visual assistance when requested.
Last but not least, I am always volunteering time and resources to our local Creative Mornings Miami Group, a fantastic worldwide initiative for monthly breakfasts for the creative community, putting together all those talented people who believe MIAMI IS THE CITY to be and work and want to help this city grow into one of the finest creative, artistic and technological destinations.
I always encourage Advertising and Boutique Agencies to contact me with their creative projects for Non-Profit Agencies.