I was not paid to capture this event, instead I was an official sponsor! This was the first time I sponsored a major charity event, and it was a great way to blend my interest in golf and sports with my experience as a trained teacher.
The cause: teacher housing in Queenstown
Roost Mortgages, based in Arrowtown, put together a charity fundraiser for the Whakatipu High School Foundation in order to raise money for teachers that struggle to find accomodation in the Queenstown region. Due to higher then average cost of living in the area, teachers have found it difficult to save up enough money to get into their own homes or even rent in some cases, so the foundation uses its resources to help alleviate the cost of rent for teachers in their first year while they are getting settled and perhaps have to move with their entire family.
What I donated to the auction
Since I am still a registered primary school teacher, I wanted to be able to give back to the community and support an amazing initiative that hits very close to home for me. So I gave away two photo packages that were auctioned off to the highest bidder.
One package I donated was a half day commercial services package (valued at around $2,490 + gst), and the other package was a family photoshoot (valued at over $750 inc gst).
Why I sponsor rather than invoice
I went along to the golf tournament to network as well as practise some of my own golf photography, and came out with the photos you see above.
It was such a great way for me to give back to the community, to gain some networking value and to practise my own photo skills along the way. I plan to make donating to charity a regular thing in the future!
