Photography To Help New Jersey Children

Next time you see Amy Arbus, Nina Berman, Tim Fadek, Gail Albert Halaban, Ron Haviv, Yunghi Kim, Stewart Shining or Martin Schoeller, give them a pat on the back.

All of these photographers are volunteering this year for the Heart Gallery of New Jersey, an organization dedicated to helping foster children find permanent homes.

It's a simple idea. The photographers shoot portraits of the children, which the Heart Gallery exhibits in the hope that the pictures will inspire more families to adopt. This year the organization, working with the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, is focusing on "100 Waiting Children" who are older and hardest to adopt. There have been two days of photo shoots already this summer, with a third coming up. The photos will be exhibited this fall at a time and place to be announced.

The campaign has been a success in the past. In 2005, the Heart Gallery exhibited portraits of 346 children. According to the organization, DYFS inquiries rose by the thousands, 92 of the children have been adopted, 34 more will have their adoptions finalized in the coming months, and more adoptions will follow.