It seems like only yesterday I was listening to a new song by Collin Raye called “The Eleventh Commandment (Honor Thy Children)”. This song and the subsequent video brought Childhelp into my world. It was yesterday that I sat in the gym at the Alice C Tyler Village of Childhelp East with others to be recognized for 10 years of volunteer service. How did time fly by so quickly?Currently there are about 60 kids at the Village. On the gym stage the kids were singing, clapping and playing recorders. They looked and acted like any kids putting on a show and then I remembered why there were there. Each and every one of them had been abused or neglected so severely they were removed from their homes and brought to the Village, which for many is the last stop. These are kids that society has thrown away, many have behavioral issues due to the abuse. At the Village, they find love and they heal and they have hope for a better future.
Whenever I leave the Village I stop at the entrance and take pictures. Need a picture of the Village entrance in any season, I probably have it. Since I wasn’t there as a photographer with all of my equipment for the event, I took pictures of the entrance with my phone. That simple device had me looking at the Village in a new way. It occurred to me how very much the entrance and grounds looked like the church camps I used to attend when I was young. Those were happy places where important life decisions were made. This Village, this camp, becomes a place of refuge for these children, where they can be happy and not be scared.
If you had asked me in junior high or high school what I wanted to be when I grew up, I probably would have told you I wanted to work for a church camp or an organization that gave people that same sense of happiness I experienced as a child. It wasn’t until yesterday that I realized, that’s what I’m doing. It sort of snuck up on me. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment at an event like the concert we had last week. I get the opportunity to take pictures of a lot of celebrities and high ranking officials in this volunteer gig. It can be pretty fun. But you see, the images are then used for publicity purposes and promotional material that raises money and awareness for Childhelp, a place where abused hearts heal and where all who enter will find love.
