Finals: the official end of the semester, right before the holiday break. This isn’t my first finals week, but it is my first and only one at Temple Rome! It’s a special one, too!
At the beginning of the month, I submitted two of my favorite photos to be displayed outside the faculty offices on campus. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on my work and even heard members of the community say that they were interested in buying prints of my pictures!
This gave me an idea: in the spirit of the holidays, why not give out prints to the community and raise money for a good cause? Why not give the gift of giving at Temple Rome this holiday season?
I approached Temple Rome staff with my idea, and I am grateful for the administration for supporting me. I managed to get approval from Temple Rome and from QuestaèRoma, the organization that planned a special discussion on race in Italy at Temple Rome in October, to move forward with this project. I also had support in obtaining prints of my art. (Read about my preparations here.)
I am happy to write that after two successful days of collecting donations and giving out prints during the week of December 9, I got to continue my project during finals week as well.
In addition to collecting cash for my photographs, I accepted donations through Venmo as well. I also gave away free candy and holiday cheer at my special table in the Temple Rome lobby. I saw a lot of smiles as my classmates found their favorite kind of candy and saw me cheering for them before finals.
I am excited to announce that by the end of my project today, I had collected a total of 320 euros in donations for QuestaèRoma! With this gift of funds, the organization will be able to expand their reach to address racism and discrimination in Rome! And those who donated and took home my prints have unique presents for the holidays: a picture signed by the photographer herself!
I’d like to thank everyone at Temple Rome for supporting me through my project. This is the first time I had organized anything like this, and I couldn’t have done it without the kindness of the community. I’m so happy that we did something great together! Happy holidays, everyone!
