Nashville
chapter

I had the incredibly good fortune to get involved with Flashes of Hope through my volunteer work at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, and when given the chance, I jumped at the opportunity to become more involved as a Chapter Director. Flashes of Hope creates such a wonderful and happy moment for... { more }

I had the incredibly good fortune to get involved with Flashes of Hope through my volunteer work at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, and when given the chance, I jumped at the opportunity to become more involved as a Chapter Director. Flashes of Hope creates such a wonderful and happy moment for children fighting cancer and their families, and a beautiful memory is captured in the amazing photographs that are taken. I am always touched by the beauty and strength that I see in the children that we photograph. Having their pictures made provides a bright spot in their day, and the joy of seeing these families smiling and laughing together in the face of such challenging times touches my heart, even more so with my having gone through the challenge of having a baby with leukemia myself.

As Nashville Chapter Director, I also have the incredibly good fortune of working with an amazing group of volunteer professional photographers and salon volunteers at our photo shoots. Sometimes a new volunteer may wonder what to expect at his or her first shoot, but I think this was beautifully expressed by one of our dedicated Nashville photographers, Annette McNamara, who summed it up this way:

"I don't remember how I began working with this organization, but it is probably one of the most heartfelt things that I do. The first day I went, I was very nervous and thought I might cry or not be able to contain my emotions. And then my first client showed up! She was this happy little blonde that was losing her hair and was very frail, but she was just a "normal" kid. Big smile and filled with hope and happiness. Even though she was in a hospital and terminally ill, she still smiled and goofed off in front of the camera and loved on her mom. It was so awesome! And one after the other, little babies to high schoolers of all different shapes, nationalities, and economics came into the studio, and one after the other, they smiled and hugged and posed for me. I even met a girl that completed her last chemo session on the day I took her portrait. I know not every child leaves that hospital or survives cancer, but it comforts me knowing that for even a brief moment in time, they smiled at the camera and their family will have that image forever."

It is very special to me to be a part of Flashes of Hope at the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and a constant reminder and affirmation of how special every day that we have is.