Love Not Lost Inc

Love Not Lost is an amazing organization. When I first heard about this nonprofit I knew I wanted to learn more...I checked out the website and thought this sounded like an amazing organization to work with, and it really is!! I have been volunteering with Love Not Lost for about two year now and working with the Ashley, the founder and executive director has been amazing! It has been amazing to see how LNL has grown within the ATL area during the time I have helped out! I look forward to continuing to help out this great nonprofit!

I feel privileged to be apart of the Love Not Lost community as a supporter and board member. When I first met the founder, Ashley, I was so impressed with her vision for the organization and astonished at her commitment level to serve grieving friends and families of those facing terminal illness that I was determined to get more involved. Everyone who's been touched by a terminal illness knows what a stressful time it can be and Love Not Lost provides more than just photography services but offers support, guidance and love for all of those involved along the way. Photography services are always complimentary and the money we raise goes directly to serving these deserving families.

As someone who works with many nonprofit organizations on a professional level, I get to see lives transformed on a regular basis. However, no other nonprofit has impacted me the way Love Not Lost has. Ashley's strength and courage in the face of a grief I can't fathom is amazing, and seeing her enter into others' grief in the midst of terminal illness is breathtaking. Her love for everyone she encounters is evident - you see it in the pictures of our recipients. I'm so glad she asked me to be on the board, and I couldn't be more proud to serve this organization. (Rachel McMichael)

I've been on the board of Love Not Lost since the beginning and I'm privileged to work with such a great organization. Ashley Jones founded the organization after losing her daughter to SMA and experiencing the impact photography had to help her through her own grief. She began gifting portrait sessions to other people who were facing a terminal diagnosis and decided that she wanted to give her life to sharing that same gift with others.

Since then, we've trained and brought on other volunteer photographers and have started a grief support program developing resources for the people who come alongside those facing a terminal diagnosis.

I'm honored to get to be a part of an organization who cares so deeply about the people and their stories and does something tangible to give those people hope in their darkest hour.

Love Not Lost organization has had the opportunity to touch many lives. It is not an easy task for our photographers to attend sessions knowing that this may be some of the last memories the families have together. There is nothing more precious than life. The beauty that is captured in the embraces and smiles are woven together in beautiful albums.

I am proud to be a member of the board in helping to spread the word on Love Not Lost. Ashley Jones, the Founder, is one of the kindest individuals I have met. She truly is seeking to help guide individuals through journeys that are the hardest.

After being in the cancer battle for two years, emotions were raw. Correspondences were terse and surgical. Survival necessitated efficiency. Emotional reserves were tapped. The desire was to direct whatever focus there was on my husband Gregg and our children. Unfortunately, there was a rodeo of coordination that demanded constant attention for
the medical insurance and
necessary appointments and
pharmaceutical management of complicated drugs and
injections and
chemotherapy instructions
and the needs of the kids
and their school
and my work.
When Ashley called in August 2016, I had just begun teaching the fall semester and was knee deep in swirling responsibilities. I was walking in the back door of the house at the end of a huge day, anxious to see how Gregg's was feeling after chemotherapy and then settle the children into a peaceful night routine. Seeing the Tennessee area code, I was sure it was another call from medical insurance, questioning coverage again, and I do believe I was curt and cold to dear, kind Ashley. At one point, I think I snapped, "What is the purpose of your call?"

Little did I know that on the end of that phone line was a ray of sunshine, offering to capture memories for our family in what we now know were Gregg's last days. When your family is in the middle of fighting cancer, you live truncated lives, waiting until the next scan to determine how the future might play out. Ashley was offering the power to freeze the moment for us, to forever capture Gregg's love for each of the kids and for me. He was so sick and in constant pain, and he would never let on, lest he scare the kids or worry me. Ashley came for a weekend in September and brought with her not only her ease and grace, but her compassion and confidence that we could capture the essence of our family.

We'd decided to head to the football field in the evening of the Saturday she was with us, as Gregg played college ball and it seemed like the perfect blend of sport and nature he loved. By the time we arrived, it was hot, kids were squirrely and one of them was certifiably melting down, and a shirt we needed had been left at home. My patience was thin, and amplified by the panic of "We have to get this right." and the ever present freak out that accompanies every "last time" event. This was the Last Family Photo for us. My head was spinning. Ashley saw that. She gently coached me to go get the shirt from home, told me my children would play and all would be happy by the time I returned, and it would all be fine. I believed her, cried all of the way home, grabbed the shirt, pulled my act together, and, in the ten minutes of my absence, she had worked her magic. I later saw photos of Gregg and the kids throwing the football during that time, and races of the kids on the track, and smiles. Ashley did that.

What is most essential about Love Not Lost is the legacy the photos leave for my children. Each of them can eagerly tell you what the photos mean to them and how much they adore Ashley.

My family cherishes the beautiful, vibrant images Ashley was able to capture of our day in the sun. The children look at them frequently and laugh at the happy memories of that time. We miss him constantly, but know he is with us evermore. The work of Love Not Lost is precious in keeping those memories and the love shared close in our hearts. Thank you for your kindness and generosity, your focus on families facing a difficult diagnosis, and know that your work will resonate through generations. Someday, our kids will show these photos to their children, and be able to proudly say,
"This was our dad.
This is our family.
This is love."