Portraits in the Park: In support of infertility awareness - by Kara Kok-DeRose (Spring 2010)
Printer-friendly version by Kara Kok-DeRose
Spring 2010
November 1, 2009 started out a little cool but got warmer and warmer as the sun came up and people started to come out to show their support. Registration for Portraits in the Park had participants filling in consent forms for their $20 photo sessions, but the feeling of togetherness was priceless.
Everyone deserves the chance to have their own branch on their family tree. How do we offer faith, hope, and strength to infertile couples? Through the radio, TV, and Internet we get frequent invitations to charity events supporting cancer or HIV or children’s hospitals, and I always make a donation. But one day I realized I had never heard of an event where Infertility was the guest of honour, and I knew that I needed things to change. I wanted to be able to go to an event and be with all sorts of other people who felt like I do or sympathised with our situations. Infertility patients don’t usually wear their condition like a badge. But I do, and I knew there would be other people that felt the same way. I know that I feel so much better when someone understands me, and I feel even better when people know how it feels without my ever having to say a word. I wanted to give the peace that I have found to anyone else who needed it.
That’s when I made the decision to act on my thoughts. I decided that I would start an annual charity event in support of infertility awareness with all the proceeds going to IAAC. I arranged an interview with the Kitchener Community News and the word spread. I named the event Portraits in The Park – In Support of Infertility Awareness. I asked for donations to our raffle table and was amazed at how many people offered incredible prizes because they wanted to help. I got some of the most giving photographers I know together: Sweet Exposure, Willow Photography, Doxy Photography, BB Photography and my own company, Purple Door Photography, and we all volunteered our time and talent, offering $20 portrait packages. Participants would spend half an hour with a photographer in Kitchener’s beautiful Victoria Park, and then we would edit the photos and send 10 images on a disc in the mail.
I wasn’t sure at first whether people would be interested, but shortly after I sent an email out to all my friends and family, the phone started ringing off the hook. I was stunned. I was overjoyed and grateful that I could finally do something to give back. So many people emailed me supportive stories, and I had phone calls from complete strangers wishing us well.
The day couldn’t have been better as the sun came through the clouds, bouncing off all of the fall leaves; it made for some beautiful portraits. We raised $1250 that day. I had hoped for $500 or more, but I had no idea how it would turn out. I had never done anything like this before – I had participated in many events but I had never planned my own. When we finished up and counted the end total, I cried. I was so grateful to everyone who made the effort to be there that day to show support for a cause that is so widely unrecognized. So many people thanked me for standing up and shining a light on something many are embarrassed to talk about, but I was the thankful one. Giving back gave me some peace.
We plan to have the second annual Portraits in the Park on May 16th to kick off Infertility Awareness week in Canada. Next year is already getting booked up as participants receive their beautiful photos and show them to friends and family, and suddenly we are getting emails to book new participants in too. The raffle table was a huge success and we are always grateful for donations for May 16th. You can book a portrait session by emailing fall_hope@yahoo.com. We want this year to be even bigger and better than last year.
If you are a photographer that wants to get involved please send the hours you could be available on the 16th of May. If we stand together we won’t ever feel alone.
About the author
Kara & her husband Nathan met 7 years ago and live in Kitchener Waterloo. They own Purple Door Photography and have been trying to conceive since 2005. They started Portraits in the Park, an event with all proceeds going to IAAC, in 2009 and are currently planning the second annual event for May 2010.