Let me tell you about someone who has done a lot of good for her community.
Back in 2013, right after a powerful EF5 tornado devastated downtown Moore, this person spent a lot of time trying to give people back their memories. Here's a story about her from Weather.com:
After an EF5 tornado devastated the Oklahoma City area, local photographer Amy Pierce noticed a particularly heart-wrenching kind of debris swirling on the street: photographs.
“Wedding pictures, military pictures, baby pictures: They were everywhere and I knew I had to do something,” Pierce said. She and a few volunteers immediately started walking the streets to pick up photos, grabbing as many as they could before street sweepers came in to clear debris in the hours after the storm.
So far, she’s collected about 4,000 with more images on the way from volunteers every hour.
After photos are collected, they are laid out to dry on paper towels and carefully cleaned with dryer sheets. Then, the restoration work begins. Each image is washed in deionized water or with a special photo cleaning solution; dried, digitally scanned and carefully restored using photo editing software.
It’s painstaking work – rebuilding memories a "microinch" at a time – and it can take hours for each photograph. But the ability to reunite families with memories they thought were lost is priceless, Beeler said.
As a photographer, Pierce agrees. “Insurance can get you back your car and your house,” she said, “but insurance can’t return your photos – it can’t return your memories.”
Amy has also donated her time and talent to an organization called
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. They find photographers to create portraits for families suffering the loss of an infant.
I've known Amy for a long time as my sister has been friends with her since grade school. I remember when she first told me that she wanted to become a photographer and wondering if it was realistic. Well, she worked hard and made it happen. It's always nice to see someone get to make a living doing what they love. Doubly so when they use their talents to give back to the community.
Unfortunately, the epic flooding in Oklahoma wrecked Amy's business. This link contains a piece that aired on a local newscast, as well as an article about her situation. Interestingly, the local station ran the story because they remembered Amy's volunteer work after the tornado and wanted to help. I think that says a lot.
From the article:
While the rain has gone, one local artist said her business is still dealing with mother nature’s leftovers.
“We have the fans going all the time,” Amy Habegger-Pierce said.
The artist says she lost roughly $15,000 worth of camera and editing equipment.
Despite the waterlogged equipment, warped wooded floors and damaged props and backdrops, the artist is hopeful her shop will be back up in running in a few months.
“She’s a wonderful person,” longtime friend Julia Narramore said. “She’s helped this community so much.”
Narramore has set up an online fundraising page to help the photographer.
“Amy has used her skills in so many beautiful ways,” Narramore said.
She’s donated services to the nonprofit Now I lay Me Down to Sleep, an organization assisting parents dealing with infant lose.
Habegger-Pierce is also a familiar face. Last year, she was featured for her work helping Moore tornado victims who lost photographs in the deadly tornadoes.
“She helped reunited families with the photos and even restored many of them,” Narramore said." (spelling corrected)
Julia is my sister. She set up a GoFundMe page for Amy. You can find it here (also linked in the article):
Link to GoFundMe page
Here's the appeal in full:
I am Julia Narramore and have been friends with the owner of Studio Innovations for twenty-four years. Amy developed a passion for photography in high school and after college with determination and hard work opened Studio Innovations in 2008. Like many people and businesses Studio Innovations suffered major damage due to the terrible flooding in Oklahoma. Studio Innovations is a small photography studio that has made a big impact on its surrounding community in its relatively short existence. The owner and photographer has donated it’s services to Now I lay me down to sleep foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that assists parents dealing with an early infant loss. When Moore was hit with the horrific tornadoes in 2014 studio innovations organized photo recovery. Amy Habeggar Pierce realized that many people had lost everything and wanted to help people recover their precious memories. She has helped many families who couldn’t afford pictures by offering discounted or free sessions. Instead of becoming a rival to new and upcoming photographers she has mentored many of them, teaching them that they could all learn from each other and helping them get started. Besides donating her time as a photographer she also donates her time as a girl scout volunteer. Studio Innovations has lost over $13,000 worth of equipment ranging from backdrops to lighting and computers none of which is going to be covered. Studio Innovations has given to its community and loves what she does but she won’t be able to continue without help. The funds raised will go towards replacing backdrops and equipment that was destroyed in the flood. It’s our turn to help Amy rebuild so that she can continue to help others in the community. (emphasis added)
Couldn't have said it better myself.
I also had a chat with my sister to get a little more info on Amy's situation. She's having trouble raising the funds on her own because of a lack of credit (she tends to use cash). The insurance won't cover near enough, and Amy and her husband simply don't have the means to do this alone. If she can't raise the money to replace her equipment, she could lose her dream.
And that would be a shame. I read about how easily bigots can raise money for being bigots and wonder: why can't we help out an independent artist who does good for her community? If anyone deserves a helping hand, it's someone like Amy who spends an awful lot of time making life better for others.
Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can help this big-hearted artist and entrepreneur recover. Donating to her GoFundMe page will help Amy replace the damaged equipment. If you happen to live in the central Oklahoma area and need a photographer, you can find Amy's contact info on her website. You can also like and/or share her Facebook page. And of course, you can always help get the word out by sharing the links found in this diary.
Thank you for reading. Here's hoping that Amy can get back to helping others soon.