Photography Support Fund: Father of precious child needs our support!

Photography Support Fund

As you may have noticed Keith has put his last photographic gear on sale here and on Craig's list. gone are

• Professional Strobes
  
• 1DII,
  
• Canon L lenses (he has used lenses on loan from Sigma).
  
• His car

With the sale of his D30. battery pack, 580 EX his means of earning a living from photography will be lost!

I talked to Keith this morning in Long Island New york, this morning and he has provided these photographs and consented to OPF raisng money on his behalf so he can care for his 8 year old lovely daughter. He has an electricity bill of $200 to pay by friday and he has the August 1st payment of $1200 to pay for their rent. Our goal at the moment is to try to cover the next 4 months minumum. This month, getting immediately $2400 will at least keep the camera in his hands.

He took portraits of 35 people at a fundraiser for guests at Bill Clinton's foundation and that helped him for 2 months. However, that is gone and while at his daughter's bedside he has had to decline a number of key and best paying clients. He is well published and has been sought after, so I believe he is in need of and deserves our arm around him and his family at this crisis point in their lives. We are only trying to support Keith as a photographer so he can be back to work.

I have never asked anyone for a penny for OPF. That has allowed us to be grow in an independant way. We have some of the best folk here with all sorts of backgrounds and a love for photography as a vocation, profession and a way of seeing the world and our humanity.

I know Keith's temporary squeeze in his helping his only daughter will touch your hearts, each and everyone reading this. I have set a provisional goal of $10,000 to be able to get Keith's Photography work back on track.

Would you help us do a good deed? I am kicking of the fund with a modest sum of $150. Please give whatever you can, bet it $5, $25, $50, $100, $150 or if you can $1,000 or more!

Make your PaYPal payments to kiiroja_fundATmac.com or PM me for details.

(The "AT", of course, is just to confuse BOT email harvesting and must be replaced by @ to make the email address work.)

You can telephone me if you have any further ideas but don't deluge Keith. She's home from hospital today and he is spending time with her. Let me know if you have geat working condition electronic flash or other gear that you might be able to donate too.

Please make sure you designate the payment in the note as "Keith Kiiroja Photography Support Fund c/o Asher Kelman"

Asher Kelman M.D., Ph.D.

Radiation Oncologist

The fund will be available for audit at 3 monthly intervals. No charges or expenses will be made to the fund. It is not currently tax deductable but I will explore that.

I'll post very recent photos Keith's daughter very shortly!

The child was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia on May 1st 2006,
2006...she is raised by Keith and his fiance in their rented apartment on Long Island, near the Hospital, N.Y.

(No this is not my apartment, Bear!, I previosuly quoted Keith, where he said "our apartment". I have never owned any apartments!) Thanks for pointing out the ambiguity. ROTFWL

Arrived home!

Keith kindly has shared wonderful images of his 8 year old. As you can see she is warm, outgoing and has an evident joy of life. She's obviously sweet and proud of her Dad's love of music too!







Asher

Fund is now at $300 plus one from Australia on it's way!

Thanks Cem and all!

Post your intentions here. If you have to mail it, then let me know and I'll front the cash as needed!

Asher

I'm in

My donation is on the way by paypal

thank you all so far for your care and help. it really is appreciated and will by me the time needed to care for my daughter. she is out of this world in her abilities as a person and i need to tend to her to see that she does not lose that.

she has a lot of faith, thinking she will indeed get better and be able to live a normal childs life once again. i am counting down to that day.

again, thank you all for your generous help. even if it is only words and prayers it means a lot.

Thanks Cem and Charles! We are now up to $400. I will pay the PayPal charges so every penny sent will go to the fund! This is a worthy project. All your help is appreciated!

Asher

Donations of any amount are valued! Don't hold back. Your gift can be anonymous!

We are now up to $675.

Thanks so much for your great generosity! Your support will put us closer to getting him through this month. Certainly I can tell him he has not need to sell his last camera.

This means we now have $675 altogether. A wonderful start but still not enough to keep things going. We'd like to get to at least $1400 in the next 24 hours!

Thanks Bart for your generous contribution of $50. This is so helpful.

If you haven't given, then why not jump in right now!

Asher

Hello Keith

How proud of your lovely daughter you must be, children are such an inspiration, they have an astonishing ability to be able to bounce back from the most difficult of situations, she looks a lovely happy and confident little girl, I hope you are able to take strength from that.

You are both in my thoughts and prayers.........

Jan,

Your comments and prayers are important reinforcements. We now have reached $875, but we still have a way to go! Those on the sidelines this is a great chance to do a good deed!

Asher

Some flowers ...



Keep faith.
Bart

I woke up this morning with the delight of hearing Asher telling me that they had now been up to $875.00. I can now see that there are really genuinly great people out there in the world. We have been struggling so hard day to day and with all of your help I feel like we can get through this and it all because of your help. Whether it be financially or emotionally.

Well I don't have a PayPal Account but my cheque will be winging it's way from Yorkshire to Los Angeles tomorrow. PM Asher and he'll send you details of where to send your donation. Think if we all gave just $10 what a difference we could make.

As a community of photographers spread across so many miles, isn't this an opportunity to bring us all closer together and do something really constructive to help......

Thanks to everyone who has donated so far! Janet I'll front the check you are sending, so not having PayPal is fine! Jack Flesher has put us to $875 with a very grand gift of $200. This large chunk is so appreciated but all gifts, even $1 add up. Donations can be anonymous too! We need a minimum of an extra $80 per day to get this family back on track. We are only $525 away from paying for his camera and flash to not be sold. Then it's just $2500 a month for 3 further months, that's all!

Great health to you and yours and please balance this by your great photography to spread the good Karma!

Asher

What a heart

Asher,

I have to say that your campaign is very touching to me. I got off track yesterday, but, will call later today with info on charitible contributions and 501c3 Corps.

Keith,

I know that each day is a challenge for you and your family. Your daughter's outlook is most important. There are a lot of us rooting for her and you. I am not sure explicitly what is available to you in NYC for assistance, but, if you contact your local Rotary Club, they often provide assistance to those who have a circumstance like yours. Also, there are other organizations who provide to meet families in distress with help regardless of religious or demonimational leanings. You might try to contact them by talking to the Social Workers at the hospital.

Best,
Kathy

Keith,

You have my sympathy.

I don't have a PayPal account, and I don't have much to give, but I am making arrangements with Asher to give what I can.

Also, if we have a photo print auction, to raise funds, I'll contribute a print of my Passiflora Tendril and Leaf Tip shot, and my Bristlecone Pines, White Mountains shot, which should both fetch better than I can afford to donate in cash.

I hope your daughter and you are back on a happy, healthy, normal track, soon.

Everyone,
Thank you so much for all of your kind felt support. It is so nice to wake up and read such kind words. I have been speaking with Asher on the phone a great deal for an hour at a time and he has so many great ideas and it such an amazing individual. I can see why you all flock to this forum. Not only for the knowledge and sharing but the fact that it has a family feel to it. There is nothing in the world more important that family and mine is one I wear on my sleeve, literally. My daughter's name is tattooed right on my wrist.

My daughter is so significant and unique she deserves more than just a place in a person's heart.
Thank you so much once again.
Keith Kiiroja

Mike Spinak said:

Keith,

You have my sympathy.

I don't have a PayPal account, and I don't have much to give, but I am making arrangements with Asher to give what I can.

Also, if we have a photo print auction, to raise funds, I'll contribute a print of my Passiflora Tendril and Leaf Tip shot, and my Bristlecone Pines, White Mountains shot, which should both fetch better than I can afford to donate in cash.

I hope your daughter and you are back on a happy, healthy, normal track, soon.

Click to expand...

I think that doing an auction of some kind is a great idea. This is something we should look into.

Hi Keith,

Just hang in there, wel'll help you get back on your feet again.

When we have an auction, I will gladly contribute a panoramic print of my Nighttime Skyline of Rotterdam.

Kind regards,

Temporary Reprieve: ($900 received, need just $540 right now!) CT scans negative!

Guys,

Thanks very much, we have a managed to fund a temporary reprieve.

So far we have just over $900. We are only $540 short for this month's rent. We paid for the electricity bill minimum.

So we are happy. Keith has his camera in his hands and will do a shoot this weekend. This would not be possible without your generous help.

Those who are on the edge of pitching in now is a good time.

This is a great result in such a small time. If we continue the help, Keith spends time with his daughter who is home from hospital. She was in the hospital thursday night. Her CT scans appear normal! Not any cure yet, but good news. You are all holding this photographer in your loving arms.


Asher


I am talking to Keith everyday and we are looking at ways of expanding his photography work with some marketing. I'll keep you informed. If you are in the New York/ Long Island area and need an assistant especially during the coming months, Keith is available for hire.

Do you have portable flash? We need that too!

If you cannot afford to give, your good wishes, thoughts, comments and prayers will help us to!

More donations on the way...

I have just received a mail from a good and kind friend of mine. He is going to donate $100 so we have now reached the $ 1K limit .

Regards,

Great news!

We have now enough money with promises to cover the owed rent for today. There were huge problems getting them to believe the bank transfer and finally they accepted the bankers check only after calling the bank to confirm. So much for fluid banking!

So we have now paid the very minimum required to keep the electricity on and this month's rent and the late fee of $55. Your gifts allowed Keith to keep his 30D and flash and accept a job for this weekend.

We now need another $1200 for this month to pay for food and then we need to get enough for Septemeber's rent by the first of the month.

Any ideas, photo assistant of jobs you can't cover in New york area, Keith will be happy.

I'm initiating some publicity work and a set of prints for sale. See other thread for donations of signed prints, matted or not!

Any new ideas, let me know!

Asher

Great news!

We have now enough money with promises to cover the for today. We have now paid the minimum required to keep the electricity on and this months rent and a late fee of $55. Your gifts allowed Keith to keep his 30D and flash and accept a job for this weekend.

We now need another 1200 for this month to pay for food, Keith will have $400 towards this and then we need $1400 for September's rent for September Ist.

Any ideas, photo assistant of jobs you can't cover in New york area, Keith will be happy.

I'm initiating some publicity work and a set of prints for sale. See other thread for donations of signed prints, matted or not!

Congrats OPFers! You are doing a good deed and the good will spread and you will be rewarded, even though your gifts are made with no such expectations. I'm proud of this community!

Any new ideas, let me know!

Asher

Hi Asher

How about we donate photographs to be made into a calendar, perhaps it could become an annual charity event for OPF

Keith - it's a pleasure to be able to offer a little help, you're both still in my thoughts and prayers and will remain so until you are through this, I was delighted to hear the good news about the scans, hang on in there!

Great, we'll do a calendar too!

Thankis Jan for the idea!

Asher

I just dropped off some flyers to local photography shops about the forum trying to raise peoples interest not only in the forum but it's traffic and members.

Asher, I have sent you a PM--I'm definitely in, and perhaps can donate more than I've done. I missed this thread since I have family from out of state visiting.

Great good luck Keith--- and your daughter. We'll all be thinking of you--and trying to get you through this with our gifts too.

Diane

Thanks Diane and everyone else. Congratulations to everyone as we have now reached $1333 in actually received gifts with checks on the way and pending cash for Hollywood plus Bowl Concert Seats totaling about $370. I pay all the PayPal and bank transfer charges, so 100% of gifts go to the fund and we advance any money on its way. So I'd say our grand total is $1703!

After we subtract rent for August 1St $1200 and late fee $55 and $200 for electricity we have $248 towards groceries and September 1st rent and utility bill.

Asher

If you cannot or choose not to give funds, what then?

There is no righteousness in giving or unrighteousness in declining. No judgments here; just for this moment perhaps, “act as a sheep nursing her lamb”. This, I'm told, as satisfying as the feelings of the lamb that is so nourished. Everyone helps in his or her own way. So, for example, an impressive photograph, elsewhere on the forum, will bring attention and traffic so ultimately bring cash for the fund. Should you donate a fine print for sale, that too can help. A new photography connection in N.Y. would be even better!

Asher

Late arrival to this thread

Hi Keith - Asher

I am late arriving at this thread, and wanted to let you know a donation is on its way.

I am convinced there is a lot of good in this world, its just we never seem to hear about it on the news and in the papers. I have found these forums such a great place with people from all over the world willing to give advice and lend a hand.

You and your family and in my thoughts Keith.

One person can't change the world.... But one person can change the world for one person.

Its just being that one person from time to time that makes a difference.

Keep the faith

Best Wishes now and in the future


John Harper

Thanks John for coming aboard!

I'm happy to report that Keith had a job this weekend and will do another mid-week with the camera we rescued. The latter came from publicity we initiated. Also his daughter was able to go on a hot air balloon ride, see motor cycle and giant super monster trucks do their stunts and was front row in a circus performance, all places where Keith was paid to shoot!

We still need, very much, further contributions. It adds up to a helping sum and it's well spent.

OPF is indeed a nurturing place. Keep sending gifts! However, OPF must be about photography first and foremost. So if you can also donate a great print, then you'll allow us to shift our emphasis towards celebrating photography itself. We'll also continue seeking job connections in New York, beyond the record industry to portraits and weddings etc and getting a gallery of prints for sale. That way, you permit a single photographer to practice what he loves, while having the freedom to give love to his only daughter. He needs to spend time and so a full-time job is out of the question.

It is so important that when you give, you also post discussion topics, comments, a picture to repair or a great image in other parts of OPF so as to keep us mostly doing photography, while still helping out for the short run. We are after all a photography forum and must maintain that momentum which makes us also return.

Asher