At the height of the COVID-19 epidemic last April, a group of friends, all New York City-based photographers and creatives, came together to establish “Pictures for Elmhurst,” a fundraising initiative designed to assist NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst financially during the crisis by raising money for the purchase of supplies and life-saving equipment.
The project, which ultimately featured the work of 187 artists involved in commercial and fine arts photography, raised over $1.3 million for hard-hit Elmhurst Hospital. Brooklyn-based Griffin Editions provided production services for the 8.5 x11 prints that were ultimately shipped to supporters around the world, and entertainment company The Marsé Group managed the financial part of the project. Funds raised during the initiative will go towards the purchase of personal protective equipment, emergency medical response equipment, and mental health and wellness services for staff and patients.
“Words cannot express how humbled we are by the generosity and support of the Pictures for Elmhurst team,” said Israel Rocha, Vice President of NYC Health + Hospitals and CEO of Elmhurst and Queens Hospitals. “During our moment of crisis, as we treated a community that was being horribly ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, our fellow New Yorkers opened up their hearts and used their tremendous talent to help us. We will never forget this deeply meaningful gesture.”
“We are so thankful to have gotten the chance to work with such incredible people as those on the Elmhurst Hospital team,” said the Pictures for Elmhurst organizers. “We will always remember this period as full of overwhelming emotions, both fear and gratitude. This project changed our lives and perspectives–it made us feel both humbled and empowered by showing how good ideas, sheer will, and powerful images can have an impact. By supporting front-line workers through the fundraiser, we showed that a united community can get through even a pandemic of this kind. This was a local project that turned into a global one, responding to one of the biggest crises of our century, and we could not be more proud and grateful to have put our collective energies into it. Thank you, Elmhurst Hospital.”
For more information on how to support NYC Health + Hospital/Elmhurst, please visit supportelmhurst.org/donate or call 718 334-5175.
