Dear friends of Help-Portrait,

A few quick points of interest.

Due to some recent situations where people have begun to leverage the Help-Portrait brand and meaning to promote themselves or their company, we, the organizers, thought it would be helpful to provide some guidance on what you can expect from participating and leading Help-Portrait events:

1. Help-Portrait does not have any sponsors. Help-Portrait is NOT a non-profit or for-profit organization. We’ve heard of a handful of H-P events that have found companies to help offset the cost of the printing, which is fantastic. But, we’ve decided that H-P will not accept sponsorships of any other kind. So if you go to a planning meeting and they say claim otherwise, leave and contact us immediately. In fact, it’s safe to say that unless you hear it from us directly, do not believe it.

2. No individual participant should be asked to give money to join Help-Portrait. Because we are not an organized entity and we don’t take sponsorships outside of underwriting printing costs, there is no where to give the money. So, if you are asked to make a donation to Help-Portrait, don’t do it. (On the other hand, if there are three of you planning an event and one person paid $30 for the printing and you decide to split that cost, that is absolutely fine.)

3. You should not be asked to join any company, join any society, or join anything. Remember, this is simply photographers and volunteers getting together with the purpose of giving time and photos to families in need.

4. If you come across an individual or group that has mislead you, please contact us immediately (info@help-portrait.com).

5. Above all else, this is about giving. Avoid the ones that are taking.

Thank you so very much for being a part of this amazing (and international!) movement. We are just blown away by the response and the huge amount of heart that we are seeing. I guess when over 4,000 people agree to do something out of the goodness of their hearts, we’re bound to see some try to take advantage.

Thanks for being a giver.