Mom Donates Her Gift of Photography to Families, Children, and Charities
May 21, 2009 by Danielle Smith · Leave a Comment
Inspiration comes in many forms, but for me, right now, it has taken the shape of a petite brunette. She is sitting across from me calmly drinking ice tea as she talks about her drive to ‘give back’. Photographer, Gina Kelly works with more than 20 charities in the St. Louis area. That’s right, 2-0.
The questions are galloping through my mind, leap-frogging over one another to spill out of my mouth first: How does she find the time? How does she choose who she works with? Does she have a favorite? How does she give…is it time, talent, or money? Why does she do it?
Gina Kelly’s story is amazing. Any given week you can find her photographing (for free) a Mother-Daughter Tea or Bowling Event for little girls with Down Syndrome, flying to the Dominican Republic to document and participate in charity work with the Albert Pujols Family Foundation, (Gina will head to the Dominican for the third time next week) snapping priceless family moments, taking pre-school class pictures, catching a bride and groom in their perfect moment of love, or donating her time to tell the stories of previously homeless teenagers.
But to understand Gina, you need to know where she has come from and how hard she has worked to get where she is.
In the 1990’s, under the tutelage of several well-known photographers in the St. Louis area, Gina explains, “I got a great foundation.” She learned the ropes, paid her dues and honed her own innate talent for getting the best shots, developing a special rapport with her subjects and working quickly. But the chance to use this talent professionally was jeopardized by her personal situation.
A victim of domestic violence, she survived an abusive marriage, only to fall in love with a man who would eventually kick her and her two young children out into the street. A mere 8 years ago, Gina was a homeless, single mom.
The photography business she had started on her own had to close as she needed to make money to support her family. Gina says, “Prayer was huge. I did whatever I could. I painted baby rooms. I gave piano lessons. I worked part time at a local deli.”
But, she continues, “I started thinking about getting on my feet. I was absorbing like a sponge – (trying to understand) how is he or she successful?” Gina began working with another local photographer, “(This woman) enabled me to financially get on my feet and try out new stuff.”
This new beginning for Gina allowed her to blossom into the mother, photographer and giver she had always wanted to be. She explains, “I needed someone to light the fire within.” Her epiphany: the realization that ‘to give would be to receive’. “Prayer was huge. I prayed about my husband, about my home and it all happened,” she says with reverance.
Her philosophy for photography became, “It happened and you caught it (on film)”
This philosophy, combined with her desire to give, paved the way for Art by Gina, which opened in 2001. With this company, Gina has focused mainly on children, maternity and family portraits. Early on, she began ‘doing little things’ to help others. She realized, through work with her daughter’s Girl Scouts, her son’s day care, and a few local preschools that many families couldn’t afford pictures. She wanted to help. Gina explains, “I started throwing in coupons, giving some portraits away for free.”
She continues, “Almost all of my giving is kid based. I did that purposely. I donate where my heart is.”
And her heart continues to grow. Her life has become a beautiful circle. As she has continued to ‘give’, she has been blessed with more work, amazing connections and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. For Gina, this means, a greater opportunity to give of herself.
To continue this giving tradition, to allow for opportunities to help others and to continue sharing her talents, Gina started a second photography company in 2003. Lace Images focuses mainly on weddings, corporate events and charity. Each photographer who works at Lace knows ‘giving back’ is part of the job. They regularly donate their time and talents to charitable events around the city.
This is a woman, a mother, a photographer who gives back, not by writing checks, but with her own time and talents. In keeping with her desire to help kids, Gina was recently walking through The Covenant House, a home taking teenagers off the streets. She noticed that the walls were bare. When told that there was not yet enough money to put anything up, Gina did what she does best, she offered to help. Her suggestion: use photographs to tell the real-life stories of the teens that had been saved from the streets. Gina did it for free. One by one, she has taken these teenagers to the areas of the city where they were found, photographed them, and documented their current triumph.
Also, touching Gina’s heart: The Make-A-Wish Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, the Kurt Warner Foundation, the Pujols Family Foundation (benefitting Down Syndrome), Young Moms of Down Syndrome and the St. Louis Family Church (benefitting inner city kids).
I think we could all take a page out of Gina’s book to begin a new chapter in our lives.
Know a “Mom It Forward” mom—someone who inspires you, gives back to others, is changing the world one mom at a time? Nominate her to be spotlighted in our “Be Inspired!” section by writing us at momitforward [at] gmail [dot] com.
About the Author: Danielle Smith is a mommy to two smart and sassy small people, as well as the founder and primary author of ExtraordinaryMommy.com. You can catch her hosting a brand new live show, The Spin Cycle, on MomTV.com every Wednesday at 9pmEST. She also hosts a show on Blog Talk Radio and contributes to WhyMomsMatter and ChicksWhoConnect. Danielle is thrilled to be contributing to MomItForward – as ‘giving back’ has always been an important part of who she is and what she hopes to teach her children.
@ClassyMommy Shares Tips on Working With Brands: Know Yourself, Find a Niche
May 20, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 5 Comments
The chatter on last night’s #GNO made my head spin. I think I’m still recovering from the stimulating and informative discussions on how brands are tapping into Social Media Moms as we enter the “New Age of Brand Evangelists.” Clearly, there’s a lot to talk about when it comes to this hot topic. Tweeters asked how bloggers and brands connect in the first place and wondered what triggered the relationship. Is it traffic stats, influence, twitter followers, or something else entirely?
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I think all of the above are important, but venture to guess that the “something else entirely” is the essential ingredient that triggers the lasting or more formal relationship with a brand. (And I think it goes without saying that bloggers obviously need to work with brands they are passionate about and are a genuine fit for their lifestyle, tastes, beliefs, family, etc.)
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For me, vlogging has been the “something else entirely” factor which has created my more formal relationships with brands. Before I ever imagined companies would send bloggers free products I started Classy Mommy to write about all my favorite finds and the gazillion products on the market for Moms and babies. Back in 2006 the one thing I did that was different and a natural fit for my style was start doing “video reviews” of products.
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Circa 2006: My 10 month old daughter tests organic baby food for one of my first videos. At the time the word vlogging was not even in my vocab, but for those who know me in real life, you know I talk alot and enjoy the camera so “vlogging” was an instinct for me. 3 years later, I still don’t use any script and find being myself on the fly is my best strategy for a fun video.
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This month, since I’m a professed microwave chef, I’m working on a vlogging campaign for Healthy Choice to showcase their products. Clearly, I’m still being myself as I let viewers in on the dirty little secret that is my jam packed freezer. I mean really have you ever seen a freezer like mine? I’m a disaster and my crazy kids are a pretty good match for my crazy freezer!
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And vlogging was the reason Wal-Mart asked me to join their 11 Moms campaign last summer as they were looking for Moms willing to share money saving tips on YouTube. This video I created about saving money with rechargeable batteries, probably also caught the eye of Energizer as I’m now a brand advocate for Energizer Rechargeables. So for me, I definitely think vlogging was the “something else” factor to trigger my brand relationships.
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Just like a a blog post incorporating a brand needs to be genuine, so does a video. I’m still doing the same thing as when I started messing around with the camera 3 years ago, but I have learned that my best videos are super short – cause even I don’t want to watch myself chattering if I start going over 1 minute!
Know yourself, your blog, your niche, and how you are different from everyone else. Are you a heavy tweeter? Really funny? An expert in living green? Do you have a large family? Wild kids? Love to vlog? Take phenomenal photos? In my experience, I see companies reaching out to bloggers based on how they differentiate themselves and how that particular angle might be a fit for a specific campaign or brand.
Gwen Bell Interviews Stephanie Precourt About Blogging for Money
May 19, 2009 by Gwen Bell · 12 Comments
The world’s more ambitious bloggers like to call themselves ‘citizen journalists.’ The government is trying to make sure these heralds don’t turn into citizen advertisers. - Douglas MacMillan today at BusinessWeek.com
Today, Stephanie Precourt, a stay-at-home-mom with a teething baby, who runs the blog Adventures in Babywearing, is doing the laundry and getting her family ready for her to participate in #gno, Girls Night Out, on Twitter this evening. So it came as a surprise to her that she was suddenly in the middle of a blogger storm after she was included in today’s BusinessWeek piece, “Blogola: The FTC Takes On Paid Posts.”
I emailed and followed up with a call to Stephanie to find out her take on the article, paid blogging and the FTC.
Q: Stephanie, you were cited today in an article in BusinessWeek, “Blogola: The FTC Takes on Paid Posts.” The article, in short, references your recent piece covering/endorsing ERGOBaby and goes on to say that the FTC will be cracking down this summer on bloggers who are paid, or encouraged through incentives, to blog about a company. What’s your response to the article?
Stephanie: I think it is nothing new- we’ve been hearing about the FTC’s plans lately, and I feel like I have been honest all along by letting my readers know when I am writing about a trip or item I have been sent.
Q: You say in your response to the piece (on your own blog, to which BusinessWeek, notably, did not link):
If it had not been sent to me for free, I probably wouldn’t have been able to purchase it and try it. Especially with having so many carriers already, I just wouldn’t have been able to justify it. But I get many emails from first time babywearers wanting to know what to purchase early on, or if they have the money, would such an item be worth it? It is also a popular search term in my search box in my sidebar. So I am thankful to have the opportunity to try it out and compare, and then let you know what I think about it.
I think this is a great point. You say, “I have the opportunity to try it out,” and I approach these offerings in a similar way. Do you think the company is getting the better end of the deal here? At the end of the day, we are promoting them in an authentic, trust-building way. We become experts on branding/whatever product we are covering. But beyond that? Is the reward worth it for us – for the coverage and goodwill it creates for them? Can you put a price tag on creating a trusting base of consumers?
Stephanie: I don’t really think you can put a price tag on it. I do think the company is getting the better end of the deal, because I have established a relationship with my readers and have their trusting attention. But at the same time, I find this is fair to my readers, whom I consider my friends. And I could never put a price tag on them. I have just gone with the flow and feel like once I start putting a price on it then it might not be worth as much.
Q: Do you think the FTC will have any success in enforcing these new requirements if they go through? Do you believe there is any way to regulate the blogger community? Further, should it be regulated? Should we be required to disclose endorsements?
Stephanie: I think it is important to disclose endorsements and I prefer to see it somewhere near the beginning of the post rather than at the very end. But as long as it’s there, I think it avoids any misunderstanding. I don’t know how the FTC will go about the new requirements- apparently as is happening now, the bloggers will probably regulate each other. (By turning each other in, maybe?) And it will probably get uglier than it is now. Because what is clear to some is not clear to others. Who draws that line? Should anyone, including the FTC draw that line? I am afraid it will do more harm than good.
Q: When we see a ball player, a country music singer or actress wearing this brand of sunglasses or that brand of shirt because they were paid X number of dollars to wear it (or given it for free), do you feel we’re being marketed to or manipulated? Do you think they should say, during their interview at the Grammy’s reception, “by the way, ———– paid me ———– to wear this dress?” Is there any difference in this situation than for us as social media consumer/producers?
Stephanie: I feel the same way sometimes, but would not want to suggest I am some kind of celebrity. If a celebrity I think is fashionable is wearing something that I like, I don’t care if they paid for it or it was given to them. If they chose to wear it, then I think that is enough influence. I think my readers know me well enough that if I choose to talk about something, it’s because I actually think it’s cool and it’s not only because I got it for free. It’s something I will allow in my life or to reflect on me no matter who paid for it.
I think it will get really old if I have to post a picture of my baby and say: I bought this outfit for her with my own money! But I think it’s honest, and a plug for the company, if I was sent something she is wearing and in the post I mention that. That’s just how I feel and want to continue to be honest. In the social media/blogging setting I think we’re going to have to be up front about what is sponsored or given to us at all times in order for our other words to be taken seriously by our peers. And vice versa.
Q: What are you going to take away from this experience? Will you continue to review products? Will it change any of your behaviors (either towards new or “old” media – as BusinessWeek is for all intents and purposes is in this instance – you can’t go in and edit to show what you said/wanted reflected in the story)?
Stephanie: I will continue to be extra careful to disclose to my readers about anything that was given to me to post about. And I will be very cautious when talking to journalists. I am already extra picky about what I choose to accept and write about. I just want to blog! My readers know me and “get me.” I think that’s why I have a hard time when I am misunderstood. Clearly if someone thinks I am misleading them by talking about a free product, then they should not read my blog.
To his credit, Douglas MacMillan went back and clarified, in his comments on his piece, “that we’ve made a correction per feedback from Stephanie Precourt, one of the bloggers discussed in this story. Previously, we incorrectly published that in a recent blog post, she disclosed the fact that she received a baby carrier product free from the company after making certain positive comments about it. In fact, she was upfront with her readers that she received the carrier at no charge. In any case, the proposed FTC guidelines for blog endorsements do not specify where in an entry these disclosures need to be made, and from what I’ve seen of Stephanie’s blog, Adventures in Babywearing, she meets the criteria that’s been outlined by the government agency. By using her as an example, I was trying to illustrate that relationships with bloggers are becoming an increasingly valuable tool for some advertisers.”
What’s your take on this? Please share your thoughts in the comments here, “@” Stephanie or me (she’s @babysteph and I’m @gwenbell on Twitter) or let us know tonight using the hash tag #gno. See you there to continue the discussion!
RSVP: The New Age of Brand Evangelists—Using Social Media Moms & Mavens for Marketing
May 17, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 19 Comments
Did you know that moms control 80% of household spending for a whopping 1.7 TRILLION (yah, you “heard” me right, TRILLION) dollars in annual spending. Furthermore, there is somewhere around 86 MILLION moms in the US alone.
What does all this mean? Data supports that moms have influence. And now, companies are paying attention to that data by not only involving moms in focus groups and research up front, but also in marketing initiatives/events and programs during product launches where they literally get to be brand evangelists. For many, it is becoming a full-time business opportunity to help shape and market brands through social media.
Join us here Tuesday, May 19 as these moms chat with us about the brands they’ve been involved with and their experiences with the various initiatives.
- When: Tues., May 19 from 9 pm to 11 p.m. EDT (8 CDT, 7 CDT, and 6 PDT)
- What: Girl’s Night Out (What’s GNO? Click here to find out!)
- Topic: Moms in Social Media Marketing Campaigns
- Where: Tweet Grid (use the #gno hashtag)
- Who: @alliworthington, @audreymcclellan, @jessicaknows, @designmama, @gwenbell @classymommy, @babysteph, @SITSgirls
- RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF). If you would like to include your blog, please enter it next to your name. Make sure to include your twitter URL in the URL line. Please do not enter your blog URL there.
BlogHer Travel & Entry Giveaway!
May 12, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · Leave a Comment
BlogHer is putting the “social” in Social Media for its BlogHer ‘09 Conference this year in Chicago and Chevy is adding to the fun. Christie, Lorraine, and Denine from The Blog Rollers, in partnership with Chevy, are roadtripping it to BlogHer and they need a 4th Wheel. What does it mean to be the 4th wheel? Not only will you win entry to the sold-out conference, but you’ll get to enjoy the roadtrip there and back with three amazing women in Chevy-sponsored car. This is a trip of a lifetime!RSVP: Social Media Conferences—Sponsorships, Roommates, and Great Information!
May 12, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 1 Comment
We’re going on a virtual carpool tonight with the amazing gals from The Blog Rollers—Christie and Lorraine. They are joining the #gno party this week to chit chat with us about social media conferences. We’ll be discussing preparing, getting sponsorships, and getting the most out of social media conferences! We’ll also take a trip down memory lane and discuss our best and worst experiences with roommates, parties, panel discussions, travel, food, photography, swag bag goodies, etc.
Join us here to chat about conferences you’ve been to, would like to attend, or have plans to go to.
- When: Tues., May 12 from 9 pm to 11 p.m. EDT (8 CDT, 7 CDT, and 6 PDT)
- What: Girl’s Night Out (What’s GNO? Click here to find out!)
- Topic: Social Media Conferences
- Where: Tweet Grid (use the #gno hashtag)
- Who: @theblogrollers, @askwifey, and @mybrownbaby
- RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jyl_momIF). If you would like to include your blog, please enter it next to your name. Make sure to include your twitter URL in the URL line. Please do not enter your blog URL there.
Mother’s Day: Moms Make All the Difference
May 8, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 4 Comments
Moms: you are amazing! You give life. You comfort and take pride in your children. You lead the way, teach, share, and love. And you do all this on the good and the not-so-good days—while balancing your many roles and figuring out the secrets of motherhood success all without a guidebook. You rise above life’s challenges with resiliency and determination, committed to do it all over again day in and day out of an absolute love for your family. And, as evidenced by the many kind acts of service you’ve performed, you also take on your role of motherhood while serving others. In short, you are changing the world one mom at a time, starting with yourself, while focusing on your family, as well as extending your reach to your community and beyond.
Happy Mother’s Day! You are amazing!
