update 3/3/09
I have signed up for the Name Your Dream Assignment photo project contest; please take a moment to sign up and vote for my project!

http://www.nameyourdreamassignment.com/the-ideas/eringonz/giving-back-to-the-community/

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So I’ve been developing this project that I’d like to undertake at work, but not really as part of my work.  I work for a non-profit social services agency that works with families, youth and elderly.

We have residential homes, and provide services like mediation and counseling.

I love my job.

What I’d love to do even more is to start up a program whereby I’d be able to provide photography lessons to some of our young adults in residence; I want to teach them some of the basics, take them on field trips to nearby locations to take photos, and at the end, show their work in a gallery in town, and auctioning off their pieces (if they so choose to donate them).

The proceeds would then be reinvested into the community project of their choice, whether it’s donating to a homeless shelter, or using the money to take part in an improvement project.

I have searched high and low for grants that I could apply to vis-a-vis my employer, and there aren’t any that really fit the bill.

I’ve looked for some basic grants for photographers, and I’m finding *some*, but I’d really like to get this project going during the summer.

This post will be at the top of all posts to provide updates on the progress, as well as to allow folks who may want to help out and donate some money/equipment/software to be able to find this info.

I’ll update as regularly as possible; I’d like to include more information about the project itself, and a bit of background about the young adults I’d be working with.  I think it’s such a worthwhile project, and benefits everyone in the community.