LASTING LEGACY
Help-Portraits keep memories alive
For Marylea Lacerte, getting her picture taken at Help-Portrait Saskatoon was a way to honour and remember her father after his death four years ago.
Saturday was Lacerte’s first time getting her photo taken at HelpPortrait, but the event is never far from her mind. She first heard about it from her father after he was approached while out for a walk by one of the volunteers during the early years of the event.
“He never let anyone take his picture his entire life,” she said. “We had just bought him a brand new sweater to go out in, so he was feeling good that day and whoever brought him in must have made him feel really comfortable.”
The atmosphere in the gymnasium at the White Buffalo Youth Lodge on Saturday clearly showed that making clients comfortable was the name of the game.
The space buzzed with activity as volunteers rushed around to make sure everything ran smoothly. From keeping an eye on the kids excitedly colouring to helping pick outfits and do their hair, the volunteers were obviously happy to help with anything — and loving every step of the process.
“I’m loving doing all the little kids’ nails,” said volunteer Bobbi Spicer from Vanity Hair and Esthetics. “They’re so cute and so happy when they sit down, you just want to put a big smile on their face.”
After having his photo taken, Lacerte’s father was so proud of the photo — which Lacerte said perfectly embodied who he was as a person — that he asked it be used in the future at his funeral, a request she remembered and followed years later.
The photo of her father serves not only as a memory, but a reminder of the kindness the volunteers at Help-Portrait showed him all those years ago. In an effort to share that memory and feel closer to her father, Lacerte and her longtime partner decided to come experience it for themselves.
“Little things like this are kind of a way we can still feel connected to him in a bit of a strange way, but for us it’s still special. I don’t know who took his picture that day but I always wonder who it was because there must have been something special about them that made him want to do it.”