It’s always good to talk about Hope in Shadows, especially when you have been invited.
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Using the law as a catalyst for positive social change, Pivot Legal Society works to improve the lives of marginalized communities.
Last week I was really happy to not only talk about Hope in Shadows but I got to see the pride on the faces of the Hope in Shadows photographers when I went with Carolyn Wong and a few selected Hope in Shadows photographers to DIGNITY.
Curated by Nuru Project, a group using photography for social change, and organized by the local Vancouver for Acumen group, the event featured 25 of Nuru’s prints for live & silent auction donated by renowned artists with the event proceeds going directly to the international Acumen Fund.
The photographs on sale were amazing (http://van4acumen.wordpress.com/dignity/ ). Four Hope in Shadows photos were sold alongside the rest of the shots, with the money raised given to the local photographers and Hope in Shadows.
Seeing their work alongside professional documentary photographers was a proud moment for all the local photographers. The Acumen Fund is a not-for-profit venture fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to alleviate global poverty. They focus on investing in small businesses that will not only sustain people in developing countries but help pull communities out of poverty. The first speaker that night was Jo-Ann Tan from Acumen head office in New York. Jo-Ann explained that Acumen sometimes has to challenge organizations to push for positive change to happen. I couldn’t help but realize that in that way their goals and strategies were really similar to Pivot’s.
I spoke for a few minutes about how Hope in Shadows is making a difference here in Vancouver. Last year’s Hope in Shadows winner Peter Thompson then spoke about how the photography contest and calendar sales help him (http://www.hopeinshadows.com/blog/peters-story ). Many people came up to us later in the evening to ask more about what we do locally.
