Joanne Barratt
By .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | Share
Del.icio.us
Images of 13 happy, healthy keiki grace the pages of the 2009 Hawaii’s Miracles Calendar. But for all of these young cover girls, life didn’t always seem so rosy. For example, 6-year-old Nalani Chock (January) was born with multiple congenital heart defects and now lives with a pacemaker, while Nigel Palalay (February) spent his first two weeks of life in the newborn intensive care unit.
These are just some of the hundreds of children who are thriving today thanks to the care they received at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children. And the woman responsible for capturing their glowing faces and personalities is Joanne Barratt of Island Style Images.
“I can relate to what a lot of these kids are going through,” says Barratt, a cancer survivor. “I know that it is never any fun spending time in a hospital, but I also know that the staff at Kapiolani do their best to put a smile on the kids’ faces.”
Over the summer, Barratt photographed more than 100 children during a marathon six-day professional photo session. The public then voted for 30 finalists, which was ultimately narrowed down to those included in the calendar. In addition to donating her creative skills and studio time to this project, Barratt created the calendar layout completely free of charge and gave the photo fees right back to the nonprofit hospital.
“There were lots of unexpected challenges along the way, since this is the first time I have ever taken on a project this large!” the former elementary school teacher laughs. “We had lots of help, though, and at every turn we were learning new things.”
In addition to running her very busy custom portrait photography studio (www.IslandStyleImages.com), Barratt devotes her time to local and national organizations, her Sunset Beach neighborhood and her daughter, Jordyn (pictured above with her), who is nearly 10.
“I feel very blessed to be so active and healthy, as well as having a very active and healthy daughter,” Barratt says. “I have been given so many gifts in life that I enjoy giving back as much as I can.”
Give the gift of hope to children such as those featured in Barratt’s photos through the purchase of the 2009 Hawaii’s Miracles Calendar, on sale now at Kapiolani’s gift shop as well as all Foodland and Sack N Save stores statewide. (The calendar also is available online at www.kapiolani.org; add $6.95 for shipping and handling fees per order.) One hundred percent of all proceeds will benefit programs and services at Kapiolani.
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS Comments (0) |
Most Recent Comment(s):
