Photographer Barry Weller is looking for babies and children for a popular charitable picture book. 30608 Picture: Stewart Chambers
By Lia Bichel
CASEY bubs and youth could share the spotlight with children across Australia in the 2009 edition of Pride of the Nation.
Photographer Barry Weller from Top Gun Photography is looking for newborns to 15-year-olds to be part of the book for Bonnie Babes Foundation.
The opportunity to be involved in the Pride of the Nation book will cost a donation of $50 for one child or $75 for families, which guarantees one photograph in the book.
Money raised will help assist in the research and prevention of last trimester stillbirth, as well as help fund a foetal fibronectin unit for rural community hospitals.
Through the use of fibronectin units, substances that can lead to premature or stillbirths can be detected early to help ensure the survival of the baby.
“Casey people have always been supportive of this cause,” Mr Weller said. “The more people that sign up, the merrier. We would love to get hundreds and hundreds of participants for the charity.”
For every five children who participate in the campaign a new fibronectin unit can be purchased to save numerous babies’ lives.
“Sadly, more than 70,000 babies die each year due to miscarriage, still birth or prematurity,” Bonnie Babes Foundation founder Rachel Stanfield-Porter said. “To have the ability to change this statistic is something the foundation strives hard to achieve and I hope is a cause that all Australians will want to be involved in, through the Pride of the Nation campaign.”
Mr Weller said he was proud to be involved with the charity and meet a variety of loving and supportive Australians.
“Everyone who I have met through this experience has one thing in common – they all love and adore their children,” he said.
Anyone interested in participating in the book can contact Mr Weller on 9702 5455 or register online at the www.prideofthenation.com.au website. Additional images can be purchased from Mr Weller.
The 2009 edition goes on sale later this year for $154. Two editions of the book will be available, which cover the northern and southern states of Australia. The book will also be available for viewing in Canberra at Parliament House.
