Today we are celebrating five years of capturing inspiring true stories here at Fotolanthropy. It’s been an amazing first chapter. It all started with our very first story of “Baby Jamsie” in 2011 and it is so humbling to look back on the experiences we’ve had the opportunity to be a part of that we never could have imagined. Because of your support, your donations, and our talented Fotocrew members, we’ve not only been able to bless 26 families with the gift of professional photography and film, we’ve been able to share their stories across the country.
Following Baby James’ story, we were able to provide cinematic short films, such as “Unexpected Joy” and “The Road Ahead”, to several other inspiring families. In the fall of 2012, Fotolanthropy met SSG Travis Mills and took an unexpected leap into feature-length documentary filmmaking. With a small budget of $10,000 – thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign – and just 4 days to film, we were able to bring in the Mills family and several soldiers who were with Travis the day of his injury. “Travis: A Soldier’s Story” premiered to a sold-out crowd in Dallas in August 2013 and went on to tour all over the country, including a screening at the U.S. Capitol, and won Best Documentary Short at the 2014 GI Film Festival.
As our Fotocrew of professional photographers and filmmakers grew, we were able to bless more families with the gift of professional photography and tools to share their story. Several of our Fotolanthropy recipients, such as Bailey Heard of “A Gray Faith”, have now gone on to do public speaking. And in 2015, Fotolanthropy produced their second feature-length documentary “The Luckiest Man”.
Our work is made possible by those who share our stories online and the donations of others. If you would like to help us bless more families who have faced adversity, please visit Fotolanthropy.com/donate. “Travis: A Soldier’s Story” and “The Luckiest Man” are available for purchase on DVD and Blu-ray.