Giving is Awesome

Giving is Awesome was founded in December of 2008. It was a simple premise: photographers give a portrait shoot and products to a family who deserves it, but can’t afford it. In the twelve weeks since then, over 530 photographers have donated over $550,000 worth of custom portraiture to families who couldn’t afford it.

Artists in places as far flung as Australia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and Mexico joined in. Giving is Awesome is also featured in this month’s issue of Professional Photographer magazine, and we’re looking to continue to spread the word about giving. Lenovo and Microsoft are sponsoring the ‘Name Your Dream Assignment’ contest, which grants $50,000 to the photographer who wins to shoot whatever/wherever they would like.

What better way to spread the word than to load 12 photographers into a tour bus and hit up cities with Giving is Awesome shoots? The blog traffic generated by the tour would easily reach 50,000 photographers per day, thus multiplying the number of photographers who sign on for the 2009 version of Giving is Awesome. (The goal: 15,000 photographers for the 2009 edition.)

…but how would we decide who to shoot for those tour bus Giving is Awesome giveaways? Why, we would rely on our friends at ConKerr Cancer, an international charity, to provide our subjects: children currently living with cancer. We’d be bringing awareness of both utterly smashing organizations to light, spreading the photographic love, AND rockin’ a tour bus! Now we’re talkin’!

What if this project doesn’t cost $50,000? Easy! ConKerr Cancer receives the funds to purchase cameras for their chapter coordinators, less the expenses of the tour. This allows the impact of the tour to go much further than the people on the bus, or even the photographers associated with Giving is Awesome. It’s the ripple effect in its truest form, giving sparking giving sparking giving.

For more information about the organizations mentioned:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.givingisawesome.com
&
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.conkerrcancer.org

DIG IT? GO VOTE! Click that little 'pic' button in the upper left of the assignment details, when you get there. (You’ll have to register to do so, but I promise it’s worth it! Pretty please, vote?)

GO!! : http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.nameyourdreamassignment.com%2Fthe-ideas%2Fgivingisawesome%2Fgiving-is-awesome-tour%2F

(wording by Kristin of 'Giving is Awesome')