” Sandra Montgomery is a financial aid counselor at the University of Akron, but she has been able to touch more lives than those struggling to pay tuition. Montgomery founded the Akron chapter of Flashes of Hope in December 2006 and hasn’t looked back since.”
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Sandra Montgomery is a financial aid counselor at the University of Akron, but she has been able to touch more lives than those struggling to pay tuition.

Montgomery founded the Akron chapter of Flashes of Hope in December 2006 and hasn’t looked back since.

Flashes of Hope is a non-profit organization that takes professional photographs of children with life threatening illnesses at Akron Children’s hospital.

Montgomery and her family were introduced to Flashes of Hope through her son’s journey with cancer.

We were on our way to a photo shoot in Cleveland and my son became sick and we had to turn around and come home, Montgomery said. Why should children from Akron have to go up to Cleveland when we could offer if here?

Starting the program was an emotional decision for Montgomery.

The reason we turned around was because my son was sick and then he was put in hospice the next day, Montgomery said. With a sick child, you never know what the next day could bring.

Her family, while worried at first, is very supportive.

At first they were worried about the emotional connection, Montgomery said. In working, you learn to step aside and you put those emotions aside and do what you need to do. And I think we all do that in life.

Some would think it is hard to step aside in a situation like this, but as Montgomery puts it, it is meant to be a positive experience for the kids and their family, and we have fun.

Despite being a non-profit organization, Montgomery has no problem keeping the program up and running.

I’ve never had to ask for money, people have always wanted to raise money for the Akron chapter, Montgomery said. We’re fortunate. We have enough funds to continue well through 2009 into 2010. Akron is a wonderful community.

Because the program is non-profit it is run with the help of volunteers.

Our photographer, LeRoy Dierker, is a semi-retired doctor and he is a professional photographer as well, Montgomery said. He can really interact with the kids and their families.

Jen Greulich is a co-director of the program with Montgomery.

Jen came on as a volunteer and then I realized I needed help, Montgomery said. Being a director on your own is just too much. I was trying to fit it in on the evenings and on my lunch and on the weekends. Jen has stepped in and taken a lot of weight off my shoulders.

Every volunteer and director involved with the program is a graduate of the University of Akron.

I don’t have to do as much on my own any more. They’re a great team.

A lot of the work the volunteers do is to encourage the parents to get into the pictures, Montgomery said. We tell them they need to be in there. You are always the ones taking the pictures–you need to get in there.

All of the pictures are taken in black and white.

The children are sick, their coloring is not that great, Montgomery said. Black and white captures the child. You’re not capturing the face that they’re washed out at the time and you’re not seeing the illness. You’re seeing the child, and black and white really brings that out.

For the most part, the kids enjoy the photo shoots.

Some love it. The teenagers are fun because once they get in there they actually joke around, Montgomery said. The kids are receptive to it. If not, we take the photographs anyways. We’ll take a photo of a child with his head buried in his mom’s chest. We take them because we are documenting their journey.

The parents like that we still take the photographs even if the child doesn’t want us to, Montgomery said. One parent said it was a grumpy day for her daughter, but it’s a part of her journey. She has the photos to show. She can show her some day, we have the good pictures and we have other pictures and this was a not so good day. We’ll take a photo of a kid with his head buried in mom’s chest. You’d be surprised, sometimes the photographer can get those eyes to show.

The photographs are distributed to the families in a leather portfolio and are presented to them by the staff of Akron General Hospital, but sometimes the volunteers from Flashes of Hope are able to give them the photographs themselves.

It’s very gratifying, Montgomery said. The emotion that you see. One mom opened hers and started crying.

Although the Akron chapter has only been in existence under two years, they have already taken photographs of over 130 children.

If we’re not photographing 10-13 children at a photo shoot we’re like, ‘What happened?’ Montgomery said. But, we’re happy doing just five.

Every now and then we’ll go somewhere and know these might be the last photos we’re taking, and that’s hard for anyone, Montgomery said. But to see the family’s faces, to see their smiles, it’s all worth it.

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