A couple of years ago I had the absolute pleasure of photographing Cooper and his family. To this day, a photo I took during that session remains one of my all time favourites. It is not just the pure joy and fun of the photo that I love, but more so what this photo meant to Coopers Mum Bron. I blogged this photo way back then, and Bron commented on my post. She wrote ~
I absolutely love my “sneak peak”! Cooper is still talking about that superman suit! The superman picture is just so very special to me for so many reasons but mainly as it just proves to me that Cooper can “fly” even if he can’t yet walk.
Cooper was born with Cerebral Palsy, and infact he began walking soon after that photo shoot. His parents have obviously taught him that he is capable of giving anything a go, and clearly he is a little boy with big dreams. Recently, while his adventurous family was planning a trip to Cambodia, Cooper discovered that many children there are unable to go to school due to a lack of resources and funding. He decided he wanted to help out the Cambodian kids he will be visiting soon, and embarked on training for a 1km fundraising walk. He set a target of raising $500 for the kids with charity New Hope Cambodia.
Today was the big day, and I headed off to Ballam Park with my family, along with hundreds of others, to cheer Cooper on as he tackled this big challenge. With his wonderful family by his side and surrounded by friends and supporters, Cooper set off on his walk. There were cheers, tears and smiles as everyone walked together around the track for a km before a proud, beaming Cooper crossed the finish line. As news of this big hearted little boys challenge has spread, so too has his sponsorship grown, and the tally he has raised currently sits at an amazing $12305! He will travel to Cambodia soon to meet the children he has helped through his walk. If you feel inspired to help too you can visit Coopers sponsorship page http://www.gofundraise.com.au/coopersmith to make a donation.
Of course I took my camera along today to capture some of the fun. Press play to check out the photos.
LOVE LOVE LOVE that picture.
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