Pictures for a Purpose | Arlene Jacobs

As many of you know, I was just all over Mexico this past summer and had such a wonderful time with my family! I also spent a few days in Mexico City with my cousin. It’s by far one of my favorite cities in the world! Being originally from Northern California and now living in Central Florida, I also have a lot of friends from Puerto Rico; naturally when the two major earth quakes and hurricanes Irma and Maria hit, they hit me hard as well! I lost sleep thinking of the loss and the devastation those natural disasters had caused.

I wanted to help, but didn’t know how. My first thought was to grab a flight to Mexico and just pick up a shovel, but being a wife, mother and a business owner, I couldn’t just drop everything and do that, plus that wouldn’t help anyone in Puerto Rico either! So, after a couple days, it finally came to me, I can find a charity that is reputable and that has people in both Mexico and Puerto Rico that is helping those that need it most! I found Direct Relief and was literally relieved!

I came up with a clever idea and called it “Pictures for a Purpose.” I reached out to a couple of my “Friendors” (wedding vendor friends) and within two weeks, I was able to secure a gorgeous venue for the event, get another photographer on board to help take more pictures and draw out more people! Together, we were able to get 16 families/couples to donate to Direct Relief and come out and get some awesome pictures in exchange! A huge thank you to Joanne from the Banyan Estate for being such a gracious host and not only letting us use The Banyan Estate, but also providing some yummy treats and refreshments as well! Thanks as well to Akili from Sassy a la Mode for giving Me some awesome event planning tips and being there to meet and greet folks for the first hour of the event. Another thank you to Nick and Lauren from Nick and Lauren Photography for joining me in this project! And of course, to my Hubby for coming along with the kids, supporting me and always encouraging me throughout the planning process and during the event! Most importantly, thank you to all who donated and supported such a worthy cause! We raised six hundred and fifteen dollars and blessed a lot of people in the process! These are some of the pictures that I took throughout the day!

Muchas gracias a todos!