Less Fortunate in Focus for Help-Portrait Events
Special events in Cedarville and Springfield provide portraits for those who would otherwise not be able to afford them.
Scott Huck, Cedarville University photographer, is initiating the first-ever Help-Portrait event in Cedarville, Ohio, on December 1. This event will be followed by the sixth Help-Portrait in Springfield, Ohio, on December 8.
Help-Portrait is the brainchild of celebrity photographer Jeremy Coward who, in 2008, founded the nonprofit to provide portraits for people who otherwise couldn’t afford them. On the first Saturday of December each year, photographers around the world come together to create Help-Portrait studios where people can receive a professional portrait of themselves.
This year, Huck decided to bring the event to his hometown. “For that very instant, it’s about the one getting their portrait taken,” he explained. “In their lives, nothing is ever about them, but for those minutes, someone is concentrating on them.”
In 2009, Huck got involved with Help-Portrait in the Dayton area by contributing to an already planned event. While looking for opportunities to expand Help-Portrait, he partnered with Springfield Promise Neighborhood to provide a Help-Portrait event in Springfield in 2013.
This year, the Springfield Help-Portrait has been moved to December 8 to coincide with the Promise Neighborhood’s Christmas Bazaar.
The Cedarville Help-Portrait studio will be set up at the old Huntington Bank, 129 North Main Street, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will be run by Cedarville University students and staff and local volunteers.
“Help-Portrait is unlike a normal portrait,” noted Huck. “It’s all tangible. They get their portrait taken, wait a short time, and then you hand them their portrait. They are excited, and they love it.”
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,193 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.