As many of you may have seen on my facebook page, tragedy struck a very dear friend very early this morning. My good friend Anni, also owner of Anni Oh Photography in Harford County, and her family fell victim to a brutal house fire early this morning around 4 am. Literally, the only things she and husband James were able to grab were their two boys, Louis, 8 months, and Emerick, 3 years old. They are left with….nothing. No photos, no “blankies,” everything is gone but their love for each other and the pjs they had on their backs when they escaped. The house and everything in it is no longer…..You can read about it here.
So…that is where we all come in. Of course as a mom, as a sister, as a daughter, my heart aches for them. My heart also aches for her as a photographer. All the photos she took of the boys are most likely gone forever, along with her computer, cameras, lenses, props…and in all this the last thing we want is for Anni to have to withdrawl from the photography world that she loves so much, and that she is sooo gifted in!
Right now my friend Jess from Jessica Vocke Photography and I are working like mad women to get the word out and rally for Anni. She needs us. We have had, just from facebook alone, an overwhelming response to donations. What we really wanted to focus on was taking care of the needs they will have now AND in the future through gift cards to Target (what can’t you get at Target?) and Toys r Us (the boys lost all their toys and at three years old–that is difficult to explain). Gift cards and money can be mailed to Jess at Helping Anni c/o Jessica Vocke, 407 Webster Street, Bel Air, MD 21014 or you can make a donation directly to Anni via PAYPAL to Paypal@anniohphotos.com. Please just write that it is a gift for Anni and her family in the notes.
If you are a photographer or a vendor and are reading this and want to donate something business related (she lost EVERYTHING–computer, photoshop, hard drives, templates, props–all of it), please consider what you can gift to get her business back and swinging!
Thank you all so much! If you have any questions please email helpinganni@gmail.com.
EDITED: Looks like we have PLENTY of clothing/toy/baby item donations at this time. We will still continue to take gift cards and monetary donations, but in order to sort what we have for the family and not overwhelm them….please hold on to any clothing or toy donations right now! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU….you ALL are amazing!!!!! 🙂 We are , however, looking for storage unit donation to hold all of these items for Anni and her family. If you know of anything or have connections…please message me!