The goal of the project was to build awareness and raise funds for Evan’s Life Foundation. The foundation, started in 1992, gives aid to at-risk children who often live in startling situations that are frequently dangerous and sadly profound. We wanted to create a marketing piece that came close to representing the truth about these kids’ perilous reality.
We chose a teenage girl named Angela to symbolize the type of children we help, and, using a photojournalistic style, we set out to shoot a day in her life. I persuaded designer Steve Kull, who had once been on our staff, to work with me long-distance on the project. Tura Cottingham, a friend and writer who has often donated her services to the foundation, interviewed Angela and wrote the copy. Emma Rodewald, a young, gifted photographer, shot the pictures in two days. Kim Blanchette, from Blanchette Press, in Vancouver, British Columbia, generously added his expertise to printing the piece. From concept to completion, the project took us two months. Because we are a nonprofit foundation that gives 100 percent of all the money we collect to the kids, no one was paid. All in-kind donations were generously given knowing that the result would help support children who are in desperate need.
The response from this piece has been very positive. Few who read One Girl from cover to cover cannot help but be affected by the message, and often their consciousness is raised about the dangers facing many children.