First of all, we want to thank you all for the outpouring of love and support regarding our decision to travel to Jimani, DR to build a school for the children of Haitian refugees (in coordination with World Vision)!  We have been simply overwhelmed and so honored to able to be YOUR conduit of generosity.

Our little Gala has caught the attention of Jordan Carson of WOTV’s F4CE of 4 who has been promoting and will be attending!  I’m looking forward to meeting her in person on Tuesday at Stella & Dot’s event, “Passport to Style” Trunk Show!  You can check it out too at JW Marriott’s Mixology at 7pm.  A portion of their proceeds will be donated towards our trip, so be sure to stock up on their incredible jewelry line!

For those of you planning on attending the Fundraising Gala, we’d like to express our appreciation for the people and businesses that are responsible for making the Gala truly extraordinary!

Jodi Bos with In Any Event, LLC; Jenn Ederer of Modern Day Floral; Mike Millenbach with Special Events Rental; Roger Haight of Martha’s Vineyard; Jessica with MI Photobooth; Barb Hoek Sweet Cakes Design; Peter Spickenagel; Lisa Perdue of Aura Skincare & Cosmetics; Ryan Slusarzyk with Amway Grand; The Team at Boxed Water; Marie Catrib’s

We’d also like to thank the incredible group who have donated their time, talent, and products to our silent auction! There truly is something for EVERYONE.  The list is still growing…

Obrien Schridde Designs; MI Photobooth; Peter Spickenagel; Modern Day Floral; Aura Skincare & Cosmetics; Design 1; Amway Grand Hotel; JW Marriott; Refresh Design; J Photography; Marti Denuyl (Quickbooks Training); Red Letter Words; K Bella Designs (Lil’ Sprouts Clothing Co); Chookhenge Farm & Art Studio; Rockstar Imaging; Top Quality Painting; My Sweet Gumdrop; Kelly Braman Photography; Sweet Cakes Design; Jason Aten Photography; Taylor Grey Photography; Gary Fong Inc; Color Incorporated; Lindsey R Smith – Makeup Artist; Stella & Dot by Julie Regan; Rick Hopkins; Gwyneth Paige; Mimosa Events

We look forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones THIS THURSDAY at 7pm!  If you’re not able to attend, you can still help us get to Jimani by sending a monetary donation or by sending your supplies to: Jen Kroll Photography, 401 Hall Street Southwest, Suite 110, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.

Fun Fact:  Because of YOUR generosity, our suitcases currently contain 306 bars of soap, 620 tampons, 144 feminine pads, 80 tee-shirts, 44 toothbrushes, 18 tubes of toothpaste, 13 bottles of shampoo, and hundreds of French school & storybooks for every age group (thanks to an international school in Florida that went out of business – shipping separately!)

The last thing Haiti needs right now is another photographer, as much as I would love to go and do just that.  They needs hands and feet.  If it is possible to rebuild Haiti into a country that thrives and rejects the sale of children into lives of slavery and all kinds of abuse, I want to know that I did everything I could to move it in that direction.  Before the earthquake, 300,000 kids were living as slaves in Haiti.  As I write this, children are being preyed upon with the promise of a meal and instead find themselves victims of human trafficking… their childhood and dignity stolen.  While most of the rest of the world has generally moved on with their lives, as it is so easy to do when thousands of miles separate us… Twitter has kept me heartbroken.  Specifically several tweeting individuals who are on the ground attacking these predators as intel is gathered.  I will reject the notion that it is like reality TV and instead compare it to listening to a police radio.  I find myself cheering over their small successes and weeping over the atrocities as they are encountering them.

Before the earthquake, families would sell or give their children away because they couldn’t afford to feed them or educate them.  With virtually no public schools, education was a luxury for many and so the “loving” choice was to sell their children into what their families hoped would be a better life.  Rarely was this the case.  With these same Haitian families living in a world after so much death and destruction, their children are more vulnerable than they ever were before with resources being that much more scarce.

Just 30 miles outside the capital of Port-au-Prince, in a town called Jimani (inside the border of the Dominican Republic), World Vision is already looking at what the needs will be as this small town is already receiving thousands of refugees.  To see what World Vision is doing right now in Jimani, click here for a recent press release.

In approximately two months, they will begin construction of a school for the children of Haitian refugees.  Yes, it will teach children to read and write.  They’ll find laughter and joy.  They will play a role in the future of Haiti.  As important as those things are, my heart rejoices in the fact that these children will be saved from a literal and spiritual hell.  Jay and I will be traveling March 28th-April 2nd with a group of wedding professionals and will be setting our cameras aside to get our hands dirty.  I have no idea how to build anything, let alone a school.  But my hands and feet can learn.

This is where we need your help.  We can’t get there alone.  We covet your prayers, support, and toothbrushes (new ones, actually).  With the generosity of so many businesses and individuals, we’re hosting a fundraising gala at the studio three weeks from today on February 18th at 7pm.  We’re asking for a suggested donation of $10 but of course won’t limit you to that!  :)  The evening will include music and festivities, champagne, light hors d’oeuvres, and most importantly, a silent auction.  I’ll detail a complete list soon, but to give you a small sampling, we have children and senior portrait sessions, children’s boutique clothing, photographer tools and action sets, letterpress stationary, use of a photo booth for your event or party, & classical guitar for a wedding ceremony, as well as many art pieces and professional services!  This area is still open for donations as well… if you feel you have a product or service you’d like to contribute, please email jen@jenkrollphotography.com.  And funds raised above what is needed for the trip expense will be donated to World Vision as they are paying for all the construction materials for the school.  We’ll also have an area with four open suitcases that we need your help filling.  We’ve already received 216 bars of soap and 500 tampons (THANK YOU — you know who you are!!) and are looking to fill the rest of the suitcases with toothbrushes, toothpaste, and small toys of the happy meal variety.

We also need your help getting the word out about this gala.  It’s wonderful to have so many incredible items donated for the silent auction, but we need people there to benefit from the generosity of so many individuals!  My entire business model is based off from personal referrals.  That means your voice makes all the difference!  So I personally invite every reader of this blog to this gala and also ask that you would invite your friends as well.  If you have a sphere of social media influence (blog, twitter, facebook), I ask for your support there as well.  To reserve your tickets, please email your name and the quantity requested to admin@jenkrollphotography.com.

Thank you in advance for your support!  Please continue to pray for this most vulnerable population…

Life is full of surprises.  Earlier last week, nine families were unaware that they’d be holding their long awaited children in their arms a few days later.  These kids had survived an earthquake and several years in an orphanage; it was time for them to go to their forever homes.  Getting them home took at team:  Bethany Christian Services, God’s Littlest Angels In Haiti, two anonymous donors who offered up their planes and staff to coordinate transportation (so thankful for them and their continued selfless giving), and one other amazing person who shall also remain nameless (so proud I could burst).

I learned only a few hours prior that I would be documenting their homecomings.  Ryan Prins jumped on board even though I wouldn’t tell him what we were photographing until we were on our way there!  He contributed a lot of the amazing images below.  We shared the space with four other news networks and a newspaper or two, but we were there to document those moments for the families and for the donors.  Easily one of the highlights of my career.  It just makes our trip down there (with World Vision) in a couple months that much more real… For those of you who have asked, I will be posting specific needs for that as soon as I can verify how many suitcases we can check!

Nine families made whole with the addition of eleven children:

Plane #1

Please pray for this baby... she went straight to the hospital from the airport...

This little guy was also adopted from Haiti 5 1/2 years ago... he was part of the cheering squad and a guest reporter. He's old enough to remember when it was his plane arriving home...

So much anticipation waiting for the second plane to arrive...

We also did quick portraits for all the families. Special thanks to Color Inc for generously donating 11×14s to all the families!!