There is a group of children that are dear to our hearts. No, they aren’t relatives - they are the wonderful children that visit Jill’s House. It is a respite facility for special needs children. They are able to have overnight visits and have all of their special needs taken care of by professionals.

As you can imagine, this is all pretty pricey. Enter fund raising like the annual golf tourney we photographed for them at Landowne Resort and Spa. Thanks to all the golfers who came out to play - an amazing day for weather and great spirits. (OK - it was the day of the Steelers/Redskins football game.) But other than that, it was fabulous!

Jill’s House means a lot to us. We have been with them as their photographers since the beginning. I don’t think I ever blogged about why they are the charity we chose to support. Here it is - my cousin Ronnie had Cerebral Palsy. He was born in the 40’s when not much was known about how to care for CP. My Aunt Ethel and his sisters took great care of him, exercising his muscles and teaching him to be as self sufficient as possible. I remember that he trained dogs, was very neat and made his mom happy.

As a small child, I would watch him use a wheelchair and crawl on his hands and knees to get around. I would listen to his slurred speech. And I loved his laughter and ‘can do’ attitude! He was the reason that I decided that I wanted to work with special needs children. As an adult, I did that for a time. Jill’s House rekindled the love for helping this population. We are blessed to be able to provide great photos of the foursomes as well as candids of the day. But what really touches our hearts, is to help increase the funding for great kids like Ronnie who need help. I know he would have loved Jill’s House and all the activities they provide. I am sure that my Aunt would have loved to have a break from caring for him, even for one night.

Enjoy the photos below but more importantly, take a moment and give to a great cause!