“Portraits of Hope” for Families in Transition
Local Photography Studio Donates Gift of Family Unity

   SAN DIEGO — Sixty-five families at St. Vincent de Paul Village will be offered a unique steppingstone in their efforts to regain self-reliance and dignity when Visual Poetry takes heirloom-quality portraits of each family on Wednesday, December 1, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the Visual Poetry studio, located at 3211 Holiday Court, Suite 200. Media interested in covering the day’s festivities are encouraged to arrive between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., the event’s busiest hours.

   Village families will be shuttled to the La Jolla studios from the Village by bus to enjoy a gift that provides life-long memories without the worry of financial obligation.

   “There are monetary boundaries which don’t allow our families to enjoy certain extras in life,” says Father Joe Carroll, Village president. “Visual Poetry, specifically photographer Don Gilmore, providing these portraits free of charge allows our residents to capture this moment in their lives.”

   He says last year’s event went a long way to restoring the dignity lost to life on the streets and anticipates this year’s portraits will have a similar impact.

   “As the make-up was applied and their hair was styled, you could see the disbelief giving way to smiles and laughter,” he says. “For that moment, as they were being pampered, you could see they realized there was reason to hope – it rekindled the dignity which had been lost to hopelessness.”

   In addition to the photography volunteers, make-up artists and hair stylists will pamper the families and items from the studios’ wardrobe collection will be available to the residents for their portrait session. Volunteers from the Rotary Club of Torrey Pines, which is covering part of the cost of the event, will also be on hand.

   Each portrait package, valued at over $300, will include one large picture and several smaller prints. The packages are expected to be returned to Village families just before the Christmas holiday.

   For more information (media only) on the sixth annual “Portraits of Hope” event, please call (619) 540-2004.

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