I am proud to announce that PK Photography is participating in the International Charity Model Search to select North America’s Cutest Kid and to raise funds for the non-profit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation. (NILMDTS.org)
If you are not familiar with NILMDTS, it’s an amazing group of photographers who have volunteered their services to families who have been blessed with a child who unfortunately will not be coming home from the hospital. Here’s a little more info about NILMDTS from their website:
regnancy and birth are miraculous journeys. This amazing time of life is full of mystery, anticipation, joy, hope, and wonder. Feeling the powerful energy of birth and new life, watching as a new family is born unto each other. These things humble and amaze. These are the things that we celebrate when a baby is born.
But there is another aspect of pregnancy and birth. There is an unexpected place in this journey where some families may find themselves. When a baby dies, a world is turned upside down. There is confusion, sadness, fear, and uncertainty that cannot be explained. There is sorrow where there should have been joy. During this time, it might be impossible for families to know what they might need in order to heal in the future.
This is the place where the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation gently provides a helping hand and a healing heart. For families overcome by grief and pain, the idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them. Offering gentle and beautiful photography services in a compassionate and sensitive manner is the heart of this organization. The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives. The NILMDTS mission statement is to introduce remembrance photography to parents suffering the loss of a baby with the gift of professional portraiture. We believe these images serve as an important step in the family’s healing process by honoring their child’s legacy.
The Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation (NILMDTS) administers a network of more than 7,000 volunteer photographers in the United States and 25 countries. At a family’s request, a NILMDTS Affiliated Photographer will come to your hospital or hospice location and conduct a sensitive and private portrait session. The portraits are then professionally retouched and presented to the families on an archival DVD or CD that can be used to print portraits of their cherished baby.
And I am proud to say that Heritage Makers (the direct selling company that I am a Personal Publishing Consultant for) also teamed up with NILMDTS in 2010 to offer these families storybooks from their portrait sessions with photographers. When I attended our annual convention in August, there was not a dry eye in the room as we met one family who shared there story with us. I share this because I believe this organization (NILMDTS) does an amazingly beautiful thing for these families and I would like to support them in any way I possibly can. Here is the story of Tristan’s Visit.
Model Search Special:
$20 entrance fee includes a 60-minute model session and one image submitted to the international gallery.
Is your child North America’s Cutest Kid? We’ll give you the opportunity to prove it! The grand prize winner will win a $2,500 savings bond, a $2,500 travel package, and a $100 Target gift card. The second and third place runners up each will win a $500 savings bond and a $100 Target gift card.
Finalists will be determined by online votes. Each vote is $1 (no limit on the amount of votes you can cast), and all proceeds from votes benefit Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS.org). Every family member who registers their information on the Charity Model Search Website will also receive 1 complimentary vote. The top 5 paid votes, and the top 5 complimentary votes in each region will move on to the final judging round for a total of 50 finalists.
Grand prize international winner and runners up will be determined from the 50 regional finalists. The winner and runners up are selected by photography experts.
Call 760-218-9714 now to enter your “Cutest Kid” in this exciting contest. Or click here to Schedule Your Session.
*Contest open to residents of the US and Canada. For more information, visit the Charity Model Search website.