WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Volunteers got together this morning to give back to the community in a unique way. The activity was centered around women who’ve battled a devastating disease.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and in light of that, a local organization is helping women picture a brighter future.
On Sunday, I Picture Hope provided free photo shoot sessions with a glam team to people who have survived breast cancer and for those who are currently battling breast cancer. It’s a way to remind them of just how beautiful they are.
The woman behind all this got the inspiration to do it after seeing a picture her husband took of her when she did not feel the best about herself.
“It means everything to me so I am a cancer survivor, and one day, I came home and he took this beautiful photo of me. It was a portrait literally against a plain white wall, and I felt so empowered and all I kept thinking and saying was, how can I bring this feeling to other people who are going through exactly what I was going through,” said I Picture Hope Director Lori Prashker-Thomas.
Everyone that is making this happen is here as a volunteer. From the hair and makeup to even the studio time ARE all donated, to help empower everyone who walks through the door.
“I think it’s really important because everybody who is either a fighter of some sort of disease, whether it be cancer or anything else needs to feel like themselves and pretty and or handsome just bring them back to how they were before a diagnosis of whatever that illness is,” Prashker-Thomas explained.
A model who is also a breast cancer survivor says this is something she will remember for the rest of her life.
“I just love the, how they treat you they do all the participation they put they pamper you and they do pictures for them. It’s just a fun event,” model and breast cancer survivor Evangelia Kotsias.
These photos are more than just a pretty picture. They are memories that will live on forever.
“We don’t always know what these photos are being used for sometimes they are used at people’s memorials when we are doing this and everybody’s volunteering. Having these photos done, sometimes these are the last photos that a family has and they mean everything to that family, and I just want that to be a good memory, for everyone to have,” Prashker-Thomas said.
All of the women who attended also got a goodie bag with essentials to help them relax at home.
