We are THRILLED to announce our 6th annual SPRING FOR CHARITY. This photographic event with live chicks and bunnies has raised over $6000 for local charities in the Valley. With the help of our amazing clients, we really are making a difference in the lives of local children and families.
Last year was a HUGE success at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. We are so excited to be invited back again this year. The museum has offered free admission to all photographed children on Thursday, March 27th, so plan to stay and play! The money raised at our Thursday sessions will be donated to the Museum’s Every Child Program.
The part I like best about SPRING FOR CHARITY is that every location or charity we choose have a close tie to one or more of our clients – and all charities we select to work with must give back to children or families in our community. In the past, we have raised money for the Child Crisis Center, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the Children’s Museum of Phoenix Every Child’s Program.
This year, I’m so proud to be working with The Autism Society of Greater Phoenix for our second charity. The money raised during our Friday , March 28th sessions will be donated to The Autism Society of Greater Phoenix. Our client, favorite make-up artist, and friend, Gina Schroeder, reached out to present this fabulous organization for our consideration. Here’s her story:
Parents think all their kids are special but I knew from the day I brought my son Brendan home from the hospital he was going to be extra special. But I had no idea the journey he was about to take us on. Brendan by the age of 5 months suffered from severe food allergies. He is allergic to gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts, artificial flavoring, citric acid, red dye & tomatoes. Starting at 5 months old I noticed he would twirl his hands and feet a lot. He never cooed like a baby and he rarely looked at anyone when they would walk into the room. By the time he was 10 months old it was clear to us that Brendan was different. At 11 months old Brendan began speech and occupational therapy. Unfortunately he showed zero progress. At 13 months old Brendan was diagnosed with severe Autism Spectrum Disorder. We felt like we had just been punched in the gut. From that moment our lives have completely changed. We went through the grieving stage, the why us stage and then we came to accept the diagnoses. We were not going to let autism define our little boy. I spent countless hours reading everything I could about Autism. Feeling overwhelmed would have been an understatement. I was finding that being diagnosed so young was extremely rare and many people just didn’t know what to do with a child his age. I had decided that I was going to fight. I wasn’t going to let anybody tell me my son couldn’t get the help he needed. In the middle of my fight I met a women named Trisha who was also a mom of a child with severe autism. She also was on the board of a local group called Autism Society of Greater Phoenix. Little did I know that Trisha and the Autism Society of Greater Phoenix would soon be my Guardian Angels. Everyone in the group has a child on the spectrum. They have helped my family in more ways then I can even describe. They have been there for me emotionally. They have helped me to understand and cope with Brendan’s food allergies. They have helped me get into the best doctors. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without their support. There is a lot of national autism support but to have the kind of help I got from a local group has been the biggest blessing to my families fight with autism!
To learn more about Gina and Brendan’s journey, click here.
Our SPRING FOR CHARITY event is a client favorite! These sessions book quickly, so call/email us today to reserve your time.
480.473.8334 or info@marriottphoto.com – leave a message with preferred time, number of children, name, and phone number and we will confirm.
To learn more about Spring for Charity, click here.
