GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) - Even with COVID-19 all around us, Katy Ulmer got out of her house and visited many other homes to raise money for Hope Harbor.
Last weekend, the Grand Island woman photographed more than 150 families, who then donated money and goods to Hope Harbor.
In exchange for the donation, the families receive a photographic souvenir of this unusual time period, when many of us are sheltering at home. Ulmer got the idea three weeks ago when she learned about the Front Steps Project online.
Practicing social distancing, Ulmer stood on front lawns while families gathered on their porches, front steps or in front of apartment doors. People will have the pictures “so they can remember this crazy time that we’re living in,” Ulmer told The Grand Island Independent.
She shot two groups on Friday, April 3, and then got real busy the next two days. She visited the first house at 8 a.m. each day, “and then I didn’t get home until 7,” she said.
“It was a long day but we made it,” said Ulmer, who took an hour for her lunch break each day.
She shot one or two photos of each group, and emailed the pictures to them later. Some people left cash for her in their mailbox. Others made their donations online.
Ulmer, 24, has her own family at home. Her husband, Seth, watched their three kids when she was out taking pictures.
On Thursday, Ulmer dropped off the donations. Hope Harbor received $1,280 in cash. The donations raised the value of the donations to more than $1.600. Those items included food, diapers, wipes and plates.
“It was a huge success,” Ulmer said.
Photography has been a hobby of Ulmer’s for about four years.
No time period is specified for those who take part in the Front Steps Project. A weekend just fit Ulmer’s schedule.
Families signed up on her Facebook page.
As Sunday came to a close, Ulmer had to turn some people away, “because I couldn’t do another day,” she said.
“I was very tired,” said Ulmer, who will give birth to a boy in July.
Ulmer graduated from Grand Island Senior High at the age of 15. After that, she went to college for a couple of years.
She married Seth when she was 17. “And we’re still together,” she says.
Their oldest child, 6-year-old Marlee, goes to Newell Elementary.
Another Grand Island photographer, Cassie Price, also took part in the Front Steps Project. Three weeks ago, she went to about 40 houses in her neighborhood. Her beneficiary was also Hope Harbor, which received nonperishables and cleaning supplies. The Front Steps Project has been temporarily shut down, Price said, because of the dangers of coronavirus.
Ulmer admires Hope Harbor. “They’re there for people who need it,” she says.
She volunteered at Hope Harbor when she was younger.
Ulmer wanted to “give back to the community during this time, because a lot of people were losing their jobs. A lot of people were losing income. So they are going to need the extra help, extra food. And if I can help, I wanted to.”
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