“Sometimes you can tell a large story with a tiny subject.”  – Eliot Porter

Each year it’s an honor for me to photograph children and families through the nonprofit Flashes of Hope at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.  It’s one way that I’m reminded how much photographs absolutely do matter. The children who are photographed through this program are just like any other kids, except they are battling a serious illness that makes them and their parents appreciate every day and every memory.

Flashes of Hope raises funds to speed up a cure for children’s cancer while honoring the unique life and memories of every child fighting cancer. It honors the courage of children with cancer, captures a moment in time, and funds research so they will have the chance to create a lifetime of memories.

With chapters in 55 cities, FOH volunteers photograph more than 50% of the children annually diagnosed in the United States. Since its founding in 2001, the nonprofit has photographed 49,218 children at hospitals and camps across the country.

For too many families, the portrait is the last one they have of their child. Thousands of children are waiting for a cure while doctors are forced to use outdated and toxic treatments. Cancer is the leading disease killer of children yet childhood cancer receives only 4% of federal funding for research.

Here are some of the beautiful faces that I photographed recently, shown with permission.

Hug those you love, and don’t take a single day for granted, friends.

Thank you, Flashes of Hope, for sending me this beautiful plaque – a complete surprise that I will treasure!