A conversation between friends began a successful family-portrait fundraiser for Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter. All it took was a vision, a plan and community support.
Photographer, Aliyah Dastour, local realtor, Andrea Vaccarelli Landis, and the co-founder of The Women of Loudoun County Facebook group, Kimmy Huggins, combined their expertise to make the family picture session a success.
“We decided on LAWS after speaking amongst ourselves about everything that was going on and how some may not be as fortunate to have a safe space during times of Covid, quarantine and well just in general,” said Andrea. “We all have a special place in our heart for women and children and love what LAWS does for the community and felt it was the perfect fit.”
Andrea said the women are very grateful to the people and families who chose to participate in the photo sessions. They photographed everyone who participated with the $10,000 donation check. Their fee of $249 went straight to the charity.
“Without them it would have never happened,” she said. “It was huge and we wanted to make sure everyone felt the impact they made.”
One woman shared a personal connection to LAWS. Andrea said she donated an additional $1,000 the day of her photo session.
“What I loved and moved me was that this was about community not competition. I am a realtor and we had a handful of realtors join us. We had photographers, marketers, social group network owners that all joined us! It truly warmed my heart!”
To learn more about LAWS, visit: https://www.lcsj.org/.
