Some might tell me I am crazy after I announce this but I am hoping and praying that most will welcome the idea and be supportive!
While I had my time off this past summer there was an idea that kept popping into my mind but I thought to myself, "I’ll think and pray about it later". However every once in a while there it would be. For those of you that may not know I am a woman of faith and most of my business choices come from prayer first and action afterward. The reason why I started Gift of Life Photography was yes, I love capturing life through the lens but my main reason was a promoting from the Lord to defend life through my lens. This is why my passion lies mostly in birth photography.
Again, 2 years later the Lord has placed on my heart the way He would like me to conduct my business. I was nervous to talk to my husband about it but after we talked he said he recently felt the same! My heart was and is at peace about this decision. What is it? Well, I will now be a non-profit photographer!! There are two reasons I feel the Lord would like me to do this.
One: My family has always been in more of the lower income status. God has graciously provided for us through the years in extraordinary ways! To meeting someone for the first time who just happened to have recently inherited a trailer home on a farm in the town we were about to move to and was looking for a young couple just out of ministry to rent to for cheap. To visiting old landlords randomly and being offered bins, upon bins, upon bins of baby clothes ranging from newborn to 4T, we are just running out of clothes for our oldest now!
For me photos have always been important to me for our family but we never could hire a professional to capture our family. Again friends were gracious enough to either extend some to us free or offer whatever we could afford and they would donate it to charity. Even now we haven’t had any spare money to get some done. So I know how it feels to want those professional photos done but have no way to get them unless it was graciously offered.
I want to be able to give families the opportunity to capture some precious moments in life and I don’t want money to be the deciding factor. I know that there are so many families out there wanting desperately to have those moments captured but just cannot financially afford it.
Second: Money is fleeting and runs in and out of our lives just like that. But blessing others and giving someone else a chance at a better life, that is eternal. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
With that being said how sessions will now be working is like this, depending on the session type one is interested in there will be a minimum donation amount. It will then be up to the client to either further that donation or keep it as is. All my earnings will be given directly to helping women and children in India. Helping to empower and save women by training those to become teachers and helping children receive an education, food and living quarters. I will post more information later on that at a later date. India stole part of my heart when I was a teenager and even more back in 2009 when I had the chance to go there, meet the people, spend time with the children and hike their mountains staying in some villages along the way. More on that as well later.
So there you have it. Gift of Life Photography is now a non-profit business! I’m looking to change not only local hearts by capturing precious family memories but also reaching to the lands of India and giving others a chance at a life they may never have been able to have otherwise. Looking forward to possibly partnering with some of you in the future! In the next week or I will be working on setting minimum donation prices of course if money is ever an issue please contact me and we can chat!
Blessings,
Shannon Grochowski
While I had my time off this past summer there was an idea that kept popping into my mind but I thought to myself, "I’ll think and pray about it later". However every once in a while there it would be. For those of you that may not know I am a woman of faith and most of my business choices come from prayer first and action afterward. The reason why I started Gift of Life Photography was yes, I love capturing life through the lens but my main reason was a promoting from the Lord to defend life through my lens. This is why my passion lies mostly in birth photography.
Again, 2 years later the Lord has placed on my heart the way He would like me to conduct my business. I was nervous to talk to my husband about it but after we talked he said he recently felt the same! My heart was and is at peace about this decision. What is it? Well, I will now be a non-profit photographer!! There are two reasons I feel the Lord would like me to do this.
One: My family has always been in more of the lower income status. God has graciously provided for us through the years in extraordinary ways! To meeting someone for the first time who just happened to have recently inherited a trailer home on a farm in the town we were about to move to and was looking for a young couple just out of ministry to rent to for cheap. To visiting old landlords randomly and being offered bins, upon bins, upon bins of baby clothes ranging from newborn to 4T, we are just running out of clothes for our oldest now!
For me photos have always been important to me for our family but we never could hire a professional to capture our family. Again friends were gracious enough to either extend some to us free or offer whatever we could afford and they would donate it to charity. Even now we haven’t had any spare money to get some done. So I know how it feels to want those professional photos done but have no way to get them unless it was graciously offered.
I want to be able to give families the opportunity to capture some precious moments in life and I don’t want money to be the deciding factor. I know that there are so many families out there wanting desperately to have those moments captured but just cannot financially afford it.
Second: Money is fleeting and runs in and out of our lives just like that. But blessing others and giving someone else a chance at a better life, that is eternal. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
With that being said how sessions will now be working is like this, depending on the session type one is interested in there will be a minimum donation amount. It will then be up to the client to either further that donation or keep it as is. All my earnings will be given directly to helping women and children in India. Helping to empower and save women by training those to become teachers and helping children receive an education, food and living quarters. I will post more information later on that at a later date. India stole part of my heart when I was a teenager and even more back in 2009 when I had the chance to go there, meet the people, spend time with the children and hike their mountains staying in some villages along the way. More on that as well later.
So there you have it. Gift of Life Photography is now a non-profit business! I’m looking to change not only local hearts by capturing precious family memories but also reaching to the lands of India and giving others a chance at a life they may never have been able to have otherwise. Looking forward to possibly partnering with some of you in the future! In the next week or I will be working on setting minimum donation prices of course if money is ever an issue please contact me and we can chat!
Blessings,
Shannon Grochowski