Last summer, BP imaging had the amazing opportunity to give back to the community by supplying an event photographer for the camps run by the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation. With camera in hand and decked out in our best camp gear, we volunteered our skills and our photographer John Majorossy to help out the charity with high quality photos for their promotional materials.
John recognized a need for high-quality photos for the Foundation’s website and brochures and taking the reins on the project, contacted them to see how he could help. Tim Hortons invited him to join the campers at the Tim Horton Memorial Camp in Parry Sound (which is also the first camp the Foundation opened, in 1975) and Onondaga Farms in St. George. Wanting to showcase a combination of the camps’ beautiful landscapes, and the campers’ experiences, John decided to visit the camp with a wide open mindset – no plan, just following the campers and capturing the experience naturally. The kids were great in front of the camera, barely fazed by the idea of being followed around. In previous years, photos were up to the camp counsellors to capture. John’s hope is to expand his volunteering efforts to more Tim Hortons camps across Canada so that more counsellors can concentrate on the kids instead.
The Tim Horton Children’s Foundation relies entirely on donations from Tim Hortons franchises and from public donations collected from the coin boxes on the counter of every Tim Hortons. The annual Camp Day fundraiser is the biggest fundraising event of the year for the Foundation, where Tim Hortons restaurants donate 100% of profits made from coffee sold that day. In 2012, Camp Day raised an astounding 11 million dollars! This money is used to send kids who are economically disadvantaged all across Canada and parts of the United States, to a place they can grow, be mentored, and learn about the world and more importantly, themselves. Statistics Canada says that 1 in 6 children live in a home that is considered low-income. These children face many challenges in their day-to-day lives as a result of this disadvantage. The Tim Horton Children’s Foundation strives to present as many kids as possible with the opportunity to experience things they would otherwise never get to experience. John’s aim was to provide better photos for the Foundation to use in the hopes it will help fundraising efforts.
When asked why he chose the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation as a worthy place to volunteer, John admits he doesn’t enjoy seeing poor quality photography – the experience for him is more about the love of photography than any kind of reward.
