My mom has one of the biggest hearts of any person I know. Consistently throughout my whole childhood, she was always teaching me to think of others. She would volunteer for food drives and gift drives and was always donating books to kids who needed them or gifts to those who couldn't afford them during the Holidays. And each year, my mom donates diapers and other baby items to an organization called Mother House in Boulder.
Mother House is an organization dedicated to providing a safe house for at-risk pregnant women. They are much more than a shelter- the team is dedicated to helping the mothers build a successful and healthy future for themselves and their babies. The women come to live at the house while they are pregnant and can stay for up to three months after the birth of their child. They are responsible for a wide variety of things during their stay, including paying rent and applying on their own for government assistance programs.
Ever since I'd heard the One For One business model of TOMS Shoes, I've been trying to find a way to marry that model with my business. TOMS Shoes was one of the first philanthropic businesses I'd heard of. For every pair of shoes they sell, they give away a pair to a child in need. One for One.
My brainwaves started working and connecting and I came up with an idea I wasn't quite sure was going to work. I knew I wanted to help Mother House but I wasn't quite sure a One for One model was going to work. One photo session for One photo session. I told anyone who would listen my plan and asked for feedback. Finally, I approached Mother House and told them my plan.
Today I got to meet with them in person and talk in more detail about my plan. And now I am so excited I can formally announce to everyone my new One for One policy.
For every portrait photo session Kelsey Bigelow Photography does, a new mom from Mother House gets one AND a print to take with her as she leaves the house to start her new life.
I got to meet several of the girls who live at the house today and their excitement made me a hundred times more excited to embark on this project. I know the healing power of a photograph because I have seen it. I have seen those struggling with grief and with fear and I have seen these emotions diminish, if just for a moment, when they are able to see the beauty of their life, just as I see it in every moment.
This is not a marketing ploy or my attempt to bring in more business. Rather, it is my attempt to show women who have gone through the darkest moments of their life the beauty that is their new beginning. It is about acknowledging where they have come and celebrating where they are going.
I am so excited about this new step. I hope you'll join me.
-Kelsey
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