I would like to take a few moments to introduce you to a new organization aimed at helping children called Project Childhood. Project Childhood is a non-profit community of professional photographers and students dedicated to celebrating childhood through the art of photography and community service.

There are so many goals to this community....here are a few...

1. The overall goal is to provide a web gallery of photos that will ultimately seek to inspire others to see the beauty of childhood. It will be a site meant to CELEBRATE CHILDHOOD, a site filled with content by those who spend each day doing just that through the art of photography.

2. By offering a free session to a child who normally wouldn't be able to afford it, each photographer is making a significant difference in that child's life. If nothing else, those parents will have a picture on their wall of their child. A picture to celebrate, and that child will grow up knowing that someone took the time to make a difference..

3. By donating the session fee to a children's charity of his or her choice, each photographer will be making a difference in the community and contributing to a cause that they feel warrants financial assistance.

During the month of April to celebrate Child Abuse Awareness they are having a great contest...

Working on the honor system, professional photographers from across the globe will be asked to complete the following:

1. Offer a free session to a child who normally wouldn't be able to afford one, and then provide the parents with a free portrait from the session that captures the essence of childhood.

2. Donate your session fee to a children's charity of your choice.

3. Submit the photo to PROJECT CHILDHOOD along with a link to your charity.

4. The contest is limited to three entries per photographer, but each submission must be of a different child, and must be submitted under the following assumption: You have donated your session fee for each child to a children's charity of your choice.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION is May 7, 2008 at 11:59 PM PST.


WINNER(S): As of now, the best picture will awarded a free site from BluDomain, One TypePad blog for life, and one logo from Piece of Cake Designs. The judges? 32 high school photography and video production students. The winner, along with three runners-up, will also be showcased in a featured gallery section on the site with several images and an interview.

Also included in the site will be a special video section with inspirational childhood short films (such as the ones at onwardfilms.com ) and a section entitled, THE LAST DAYS OF HIGH SCHOOL--1 min. films submitted by high school students.

There will also be an external link to a special blog showcasing essays and a self-portrait with the same topic above.

I plan on participating and hope you will too!