04/30/2025
Good afternoon, friends of Little Light of Mine.
I have been dreading writing this announcement and like the procrastination queen that I am, I have put this off for months now. But every day, a little voice nags me, telling me I need to put on my big girl pants and get through this.
So here we are.
It is with a heavy heart that I bring this news. After more than 10 years of service to local families, Little Light of Mine is coming to an end. My heart is filled with many emotions. I am heartbroken, but also filled with the most wondrous gratitude that I was able to take this journey that was Little Light of Mine.
In the years prior to Covid, we worked tirelessly to gain momentum and around fall of 2019, Little Light of Mine was in a really good place. We had consistent corporate funding lined up, and the program both at our children's hospital and our local pediatric hospice group was thriving. Despite our best effort, Little Light of Mine has not been able to bounce back to the thriving state of previous pre-pandemic times. We went from getting several requests for service per week before Covid to only one or two requests per month after Covid. That is just not enough to justify the time, effort and cost of keeping the non-profit running.
I know Little Light of Mine truly made a difference in the lives of the many families we served. It breaks my heart so much to see this come to an end. Doing this work gave my life purpose. I was so proud of how far we had come, so it is sad to let it go.
I want to thank all the board members and volunteers along the way that helped us organize, develop and eventually thrive. To each one of you, thank you. Thank you to all the staff at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and Empath Health that connected us with your precious families, and supported the program for many years. Thank you all so very much for your time and effort.
To all the families I have photograpghed, who invited me to come in to your most sacred space, thank you. Thank you for trusting me, and thank you for being vulnerable. It was a complete honor to serve each and every one of you. To bear witness to your love, strength, compassion and courage has been a life-changing experience for me. Watching the tenderness between family members who are faced with unimaginable situations has made me a better, more aware person than I was before. I am a better parent to my own children because of you so thank you for allowing me to be a part of your journey.
I remain in touch with some of the families I met through my work at LLOM. Some have really touched my heart. And there is one certain someone whose spirit is in my heart forever. He is smart, funny, handsome and I LOVE to photograph him and his family. I'm looking at you, Lincoln. Lincoln's parents, Maggie and Anthony, definitely fall into the category of "People Who Have Made Me A Better Person" just by knowing them. They have demonstrated such love and dedication to each other and to Lincoln and I feel honored to know them. If we all loved like they do, this world would be such a beautiful place. Thank you, Lincoln, Maggie and Anthony for your support and friendship over the years. I love you guys so much.
I have met some truly stellar human beings through Little Light of Mine, and for that I will always be grateful.
Before I close, I need to give a special shout out to two people who were with me through thick and thin, from the very first conception of the program to the very last day, giving hundreds of hours of their time over the course of 10 years: Sybil Faylo and Nick Mazeika. Nick served on our founding board and stayed active in the leadership team at Little Light of Mine until the end. A more faithful, reliable person you will not find. Nick was our tech support, our fundraising/finance mentor, and overall, was there every single time we needed help, which was a lot. He reeled me in and helped me focus when I needed to be reeled in, which was a lot. He never wavered in my vision for Little Light of Mine, and he never stopped believing in me. He is now one of my closest friends. Thank you, Nick. I am so grateful for everything.
And then, there is Sybil. I'm not even sure I have the words to express my gratitude for this amazing, beautiful human being. Sybil was our Board President for the entire duration of Little Light of Mine, and like Nick, she believed in the LLOM vision from day one. Sybil lost a child herself so she was dialed in to how important the program would be to those we served. I have watched her push through her own grief, only to show up for me time and time again. She has stood by me through the very worst of times, and there were plenty of those. She cried with me, laughed with me and has been my rock throughout this entire journey. Sybil, I can not thank you enough. There are no words to express my gratitude to you for staying with this, even when others have fallen away. It is not often your path crosses with another person who believes in you and sticks with you, but you did exactly that and I am so grateful for you. I will always cherish our friendship. Forever and ever.
I absolutely could not have done it without these two people.
I am going to keep this page online and somewhat active, and will attempt to post some other content that has left a spot on my heart.
I am still very much open to doing photo shoots for families who need this service but the 501(C)(3) is closing. I am not sure what is next for me. I am open to anything, I reckon.
So this is me, saying thank you to everyone for making this happen. I love you all. XO
