Local photographer's creations to benefit Hospice

For the second year in a row, a Leamington woman has turned her hobby into a fundraiser for the Hospice Erie Shores Campus.

Linda Enns started taking photos of nature and animals a couple of years ago and last year launched her first fundraising calendar.

“I want to give back what my family received from the hospice,” says Linda Enns.

Linda’s husband Dave passed away in June of 2016, only three weeks after the hospice opened, and Linda and her family received the utmost care during Dave’s short time there.

“It was a compassionate, caring, loving and heart-warming experience,” said Linda.

She took a year to get ready and then began volunteering at the hospice.

The COVID pandemic put a temporary halt to her volunteering but she’s happy to report she’ll be resuming her volunteer duties very soon.

What started out as a peaceful hobby of taking sunset photos locally, began to turn into something more.

She began getting up early in the morning to capture sunrises with her lens too.

“I’m not an early riser,” she said. “So this was an adjustment.”

Linda Enns displaying her second annual fundraising campaign for the Hospice Erie Shores Campus.

Eventually, Linda’s photography began to encompass pictures of nature and animals, and eventually, she had a lot of photos.

She produced a full colour 2021 calendar and printed 500 of them, not knowing what to expect.

They sold out.

What she did know, was that all of the proceeds were going to go to the Hospice Erie Shores Campus, and those proceeds totalled a whopping $13,000.

She hopes that the 2022 calendar and picture cards go over as well as they did last year. This year’s theme is local birds and she spent time at Hillman Marsh, Point Pelee and even her own back yard, capturing the wildlife.

Linda has also, once again, decided to venture out a little more into the fundraising side and has produced a series of greeting cards called Cards for a Cause. The cards have her photos on the front and are blank inside to accommodate any occasion and allow the person to write their own personal message inside.

“I’ve found my passion,” she said. “It’s calming and peaceful.” To top it off, she’s already got photos ‘in the can’ for 2023 and 2024, with her series for those future years already planned out.

“I have a special spot in my heart for Hospice,” she said.

Erie Shores Health Foundation CEO Christine Colautti, is thrilled with Linda’s commitment. “Linda’s pictures, along with her spirit, are beautiful,” she said. “Our community is blessed to have Linda supporting our local hospice.”

"Anyone blessed to have crossed paths with Linda knows she has a true gift that makes you want to be a better person,” added ESHF Donor Relations Coordinator Tracy Oswald.