Art that Captures the Heart

Keshonna 8 Years Old

KIERA 6 YEARS OLD SWEET SISTERS Love Each Other

Hide and Seek Cheetos PIZZA ROLLS LOVE COLORING “NEAT” Spiderman REESE PUFFS

Want to be a Police Officer or Teacher

Photography by Sarah Spivey and Z. Michael Smith

Art that Captures the Heart

“Home is where the heart is. Having lived in the Golden Isles for almost a decade, my heart is very much home. One of my favorite parts of our community is the benevolent and compassionate nature of our neighbors who love to support worthy, grassroots (in our case, marsh grassroots) efforts.”

It was seeing that community benevolence that led Ally Christianson and Amy Housten to establish the Georgia arm of Heart Gallery of America, a national organization of more than 120 galleries with a single mission: to facilitate and utilize the power of photography to capture the individuality and dignity of children living in foster care in order to advocate for their permanency, raise public awareness about their needs, and obtain support to help meet those needs.

She says, “Having founded Heart Gallery of Georgia in 2014, I can truly attest to the difference the love and support of our community has made. For us at Heart Gallery of Georgia, the number of children in our state system awaiting adoption (over 350) simply broke us to the point that we began to take action, searching for ways to bring precious hearts home for good.”

In order for a child to be placed in the Heart Gallery, they must be nominated by the state of Georgia and deemed most in need of the services provided. These are often children who have waited an average of five years to be adopted, have special needs, or are part of large sibling groups. Once nominated, Heart Gallery seeks sponsorships for each child. The funds are utilized to cover a special “Day of Hope” experience for each child. (story continues on page 50)

Loves Her Brothers and Sister

During their Day of Hope, the children may engage in therapeutic and recreational activities at Callaway Gardens or shop for clothing they might need, but, most importantly, they are celebrated throughout the day. It is also on that day that the Heart Gallery’s professional multimedia team volunteers their time to capture the strengths of the children in photos and video.

Ally says, “Our lead photographer, Sarah Spivey is a photographer at The Darkroom on St Simons Island. Her commitment to our vision, her talent, and the support of The Darkroom have become key to our mission. We have also had other local photographers such as Amy Dey Photography and Chris Moncus Photography who have volunteered their talents to make our mission possible. Sponsor funding helps us utilize the photos from photographers like Sarah and others who volunteer and videos from Day of Hope to create our larger than life, compelling galleries around the state of Georgia.”

The Heart Gallery is displayed throughout the state of Georgia and nationwide via their website heartgalleryofga.org. Live gallery events are sponsored throughout the state and families get the opportunity to “meet” the kids, ask questions, and often leave with gifts, such as pottery creations made at Color Me Happy, that serve as reminders to keep the Heart Gallery kids in their thoughts and prayers. Ally shares, “Since 2014, we have featured 50 children in the Heart Gallery of Georgia, with many of those children sponsored by our community members. We love to see families and businesses connect with our mission and feel compelled to invest in the lives of the children we serve. This past Christmas, a ‘home church’ group from The Chapel took it upon themselves to sponsor our entire Day of Hope event!”

Phoebe Hoaster of Signature Properties is a regular supporter of the Heart Gallery, finding a mission beyond the real estate business. She says, “I went to one of these art shows and I was blown away when I listened to these children’s videos. They are wonderful kids who want a family and a home to call their own. It is a shame. Kids should never be ‘in the system’ as long as these kids have been. I am so grateful to our local community for coming together to give the children what we all want: a home, a family…and to simply be loved.”

Ally explains that donations from the local community have been very helpful to the Heart Gallery, “This year, we were blown away by a family that surprised us with a trailer, making it possible for us to travel with the gallery more efficiently and decreasing our team’s stress tremendously. Most recently, a young family felt led to give a piece of their inheritance to support our mission. The wife’s father had passed away too soon, but as one of five siblings she was blessed to sponsor a sibling set of five, speaking volumes to us about the redemption that can come out of pain and suffering. Stories like these help us to see that our mission is so much bigger than us, and trust that God has a plan for each Heart Gallery child that is greater than we can fathom.”

This past year, 14 out of the 31 original Heart Gallery children connected with their potential forever families. Ally attributes that to the support of the community, “We rejoice in the success and invite our community to celebrate with us as you are truly a part of our team! We are eager to continue to do big things across Georgia and look forward to continuing to develop partnerships here at home in the Golden Isles. You can help by providing financial sponsorship for a child’s Day of Hope, making a general donation, keeping our kids and staff in your thoughts and prayers, spreading word about Heart Gallery and our website, or by providing the biggest gift of all: adoption! Whatever you do to assist us in our mission, we love our Golden Isles community and thank you for your support!”

You can learn more about Heart Gallery of Georgia and the children who are currently in need of loving homes via their website at heartgalleryofga.org or email them at heartgalleryofgeorgia@gmail.com.

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