Emi & I were talking last week about how sometimes we don’t react to issues or concerns until they hit close to home. The idea of Breast Cancer awareness has been circulating for almost 15 years now, and I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t contributed in any way to the fund until just last month. Then we hear that a family member or a loved one is affected, and all of the sudden it becomes all the more real, and we’re ready to help in any way we can. Today I got the call from my parents who had to evacuate their home in Fallbrook as the fire came within a 1/2 mile. Again, I reminded that we shouldn’t only be quick to help when it directly affects us. Well now we have the opportunity to help as we see the thousands of people around us affected by these fires. We would encourage you to help by donating to one of the many funds available for fire relief. (See links below)

We have some good friends down in San Diego, Amy & Maurice Wright from Weddings by Amy that have setup a gift fund that they will use to personally deliver supplies to Qualcomm Stadium. If you would like to donate to their fund you can do so from their blog here.

There is also a list of relief funds setup for the San Diego fires that you can donate to at Sign On San Diego

Blood donations are equally important during this time of need, and we urge you to call 1-800-GIVE LIFE to schedule an appointment with the American Red Cross.

Here is a list of other voluntary agencies that are active in disaster relief :

Adventist Community Services 1-800-424-ADRA (2372)
http://www.adventist.communityservices.org/
American Radio Relay League 1-860-594-0200
http://www.arrl.org/
American Red Cross (800) HELP-NOW (800) 435-7669
www.redcross.org/
Chapter Locator: http://www.redcross.org/where/chapts.html#ca
America’s Second Harvest 1-(800) 771-2303
http://www.secondharvest.org/
Catholic Charities USA (800) 919-9338
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/
Christian Disaster Response 1-866-551-9554
http://www.cdresponse.org/
Church Of The Brethren 800-323-8039 / 847-742-5100
http://www.brethren.org/
Church World Service (212) 870-3151
http://bruno.ncccusa.org/CWS/emre/
Episcopal Relief and Development Bishop’s Fund For World Relief 1-212-716-6020.
http://www.pbfwr.org/
Humane Society of the United States 1-800-808-7858
http://www.hsus.org/
International Aid 1-800-251-2502
http://www.gospelcom.net/ia/
Lutheran Disaster Response 800-638-3522
http://www.elca.org/dcs/disaster/
Mennonite Disaster Services 1-717-859-2210
http://www.mds.mennonite.net/
National Emergency Response Team 1-207-948-3499
http://www.nert-usa.org/
National Organization for Victim Assistance
1-202-232-6682
http://www.try-nova.org/
Nazarene Disaster Response 1-888-246-5400
http://www.nazarenedisasterresponse.org/
Northwest Medical Teams International 1-800- 959- HEAL
http://www.nwmti.org/
The Phoenix Society For Burn Survivors 1-800-888-BURN
http://www.phoenix-society.org/
The Points Of Light Foundation 1-202-729-8000
http://www.pointsoflight.org/
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance 800-872-3283
http://www.pcusa.org/pcusa/wmd/pda/index.html
REACT International (301) 316-2900
http://www.reactintl.org/
The Salvation Army 1-800-SAL-ARMY 1-800-725-2769
http://www.christianity.com/salvationarmyusa
Southern Baptist Disaster Relief 1-559- 9533 ext 246
http://www.namb.net/dr/pages/beginnings.asp
United Jewish Communities
http://www.ujcna.org/
United Methodist Committee On Relief 1-800-554-8583
http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/
Volunteers of America 1-510-568-9214
http://www.voa.org/
World Vision 1-888-511-6598
http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/master.nsf/

Michael & Valerie are both such genuine people, so it was a pleasure to be a part of their wedding day. Valerie’s dad was a gracious host, and kept offering to make us something to eat, or get us something to drink. By the end of our time there, he must have asked us 20 or so times. (Thank you again Mr. Garcia) After getting a few photos at Valerie’s house, we headed off to St. Denis Catholic Church for the ceremony, after that we headed out to the Anaheim Hills Country Club for the reception. Talk about a hot day, wow! These guys braved the heat to get some great photos. Here’s a few from the wedding.

If there was one way to describe Charlie it would be - “this guy knows how to have fun! “. We did an editorial shoot in our studio a few months back, and Charlie was so much fun to work with because he just rolled with everything! I think we’re going to have to get Charlie back out here for another round!