NILMDTS Annual Fund Drive

As many of you know, I am a co-founding member of Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (NILMDTS), an organization that provides infant remembrance photography to parents who suffer the loss of a baby.


With the Month of October being recognized as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, The Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation holds its Annual Fund Drive for six weeks starting in mid-September and ending in October.

President Ronald Reagan enacted Proclamation 5890 in October of 1988 to recognize that each year, approximately a million pregnancies in the United States alone end in miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of a newborn child. Reagan stated, "A national observance offers us the opportunity to increase our understanding of the great tragedy involved in the deaths of unborn or newborn babies. It also enables us to consider how, as individuals and communities, we can meet the needs of bereaved parents and family members... "

If you are in a place to make even a small contribution to NILMDTS, please know that doing so will continue to allow the organization to provide improved resources, training, communication, and other tools necessary in support of our amazing contingent of professional photographers who provide the gift of free remembrance portraiture to families in need.

Our next project we are working on is an online, interactive webinar version of our Formal NILMDTS Training taught by Co-Founder Sandy Puc' allowing anyone in any country with access to a computer to complete the course online. Donations help make programs like this a reality!
Your Donations Support the Organization in Many Ways:

* By supporting the continued education of our volunteer photographers
* By allowing us to further our outreach to hospitals and hospices across the world
* By offsetting the costs associated with outreach efforts including Formal NILMDTS Traingin Seminars
* By supporting the Family Forum which creates a productive and supportive haven for healing
* By supporting the Photographers' Forum which provides a helpful environment for our member photographers to express their feelings and receive advice on the various issues that they face in this noble work
* By supporting the day to day operations of our Headquarters Offices

We've got a new blog!

I know you're all wondering about Sam's new business venture, Chiaroscuro ~ The Art of Life.

Well to answer a lot of questions, we've created a Chiaroscuro blog.

Hop over.

Check it out.

Congratulations!

All good things come to an end. . .

It's been an amazing experience, but the Bellies & Babies Tour will officially come to an end with the conclusion of tonight's show in Columbia, South Carolina.

• Over 9,400 attendees!
• 48 shows!
• 46 cities!
• 32 states!

Way to go, Sam!

You can come home and rest now. . .

But not for long! The Tots 2 Teens Seminar Tour is cooking up an awesome show. The opening show will be February 20th, 2009 in Denver!

Advanced tickets will go on sale soon--and we'll let you know where to purchase them!

Reviews!

By the way, Sam's on the road right now, so I'm taking the opportunity to hijack the blog to share some of the wonderful reviews she's gotten on her book.


Sam's much too gracious to brag on herself, so please, allow me. . .

Just recently we found an online review by the esteemed Ann Monteith, one of the industry's leading authorities. You know what they say, "When Ann speaks, photographers listen!" Well, she's spoken, and this is what she said:

It (The Sandy Puc' Guide to Children's Portrait Photography) is a literal gold mine of information that covers ALL the bases of operating a children's business.

It's been an incredible pleasure to watch Sam and her business grow. When I talk about Sam, I always make this disclaimer: "Don't try this at home," as Sam packs more into a single day than any mere mortal should try to do. Once, when she and I roomed together over a PPA Board meeting weekend, I tried staying up all night to see if she is actually an alien who plugs herself into an electrical socket while everyone else goes to sleep. I finally dozed off, and when I woke up just after 5:00, she was already off on a early-morning run. Either that or she was rendezvousing with the Mother Ship :-).

Whether human or alien, Sam is a rare individual who has accomplished so much . . . as an entrepreneur, a motivator, and as an industry leader. And the most amazing thing of all to me is that she has the nicest children I've ever met. About the only thing she didn't do this year is win a gold medal in the Olympics. Don't tell her I said this, or she's likely to start training for London 2012 tomorrow. Anyway . . . don't miss any opportunity to learn from her: you'll be richer for the experience.

Needless to say, I strongly recommend Sam's book.

***

Cool! There are also some great reviews on Amazon:

• Anyone wanting to get into the art of photographing children, babies and infants or just improve their current skills should buy this book.
• This is one of the best children's books I've seen! This book is really wonderful for any skill level, I wish I had something like this when I first got started! Sandy is truly a Master in everyway...bravo!
• This book covers real-life photography experiences, the joys, successes and also the pitfalls with solutions.
  

You can read more reviews on Amazon.

Rock on, photography fanatics. It was nice to visit with you. And if you haven't purchased Sam's book yet -- what are you waiting for?

Best regards,
Megan DiMaria

PS: Well, we think she's on the road, but maybe like Ann says, she is rendezvousing with the mother ship. Hmmm.