People magazine's top reason for Hope in America.

Curated from a grassroots social movement, The Front Steps Project is an inspiring, uplifting portrait series capturing how people coped with living in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Front Steps Project (TM) demonstrates that even in the most challenging of circumstances, kindness, love, courage, and hope exist to build, bind, and connect communities around the globe.

Created on March 18, 2020, The Front Steps Project (TM) began when friends Kristen Collins and Cara Soulia sought out to unite their neighbors through photographs of life in quarantine. In addition to incorporating work from other local photographers, the women traveled to neighborhoods around Needham, Massachusetts to photograph residents in front of their homes in exchange for donations to their local food pantry.

Within days, #TheFrontStepsProject became a grassroots social mission, connecting thousands of people across the globe and raising over $3,250,000 for vital non-profit organizations and local businesses including food pantries, frontline workers, homeless and animal shelters, hospitals and so much more. Through their noble efforts, hundreds of thousands of images and stories of love, sacrifice, compassion, kindness, perseverance, and - ultimately hope - flooded social media.

Featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, People Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and more, The Front Steps Project brings communities together virtually, despite being - and maybe feeling - isolated.

The Front Steps Project contains over 400 photographs and dozens of stories of families during the COVID-19 pandemic. This heartwarming keepsake commemorates a massive effort of courage, unity, and goodwill.

As a tribute to the good work of The Front Steps Project, a portion of book sales will be donated to The United Way to help people impacted by the pandemic.

BLURBS: Targeted blurbs from relevant thought-leaders.
EVENTS: Online author slideshows and photographer events in coordination with Indie stores across the US.
ONLINE: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn promotions to target audiences.
PROMOTION: LibraryThing, Goodreads, Indie Advance Access giveaways.
REVIEWS: Features and mentions in major media that have covered the story as well as reviews in trade, social/political, women's/family, photography, and regional.
TRADESHOWS: Features at CALIBA, PNBA, NEIBA and MPIBA conferences.


About the Author
Kristen Collins is a self-described "coffee-moment idea" machine, nonstop chatterbox, and professional volunteer. She has spent over 25 years in communications, always uncovering compelling stories, people, products, and missions, then finding ways to bring them attention through media coverage, marketing programs, community engagement, and more. Kristen is the cofounder of The Front Steps Project, a global social movement that has raised $3.25 million dollars by photographing families in isolation during COVID-19 in exchange for donations to non-profit organizations and local businesses. She lives in Needham, Massachusetts with her husband and two children. Cara Soulia is a newborn and family photographer based outside Boston, Massachusetts. Her journey to photographer was a winding one, through years in the finance industry, starting a photography business as a side hustle, and finally making the leap to follow her heart and launch a full-time career as a professional photographer. For the last decade, she has been capturing life's most beautiful and important moments for families with babies and young children. Cara's images are most well known for being colorful, emotional, and unique in composition. Cara is the cofounder of The Front Steps Project, a global social movement that has raised $3.25 million dollars by photographing families in isolation during COVID-19 on their front steps in exchange for donations to local organizations and nonprofits. Cara lives in Needham, Massachusetts with her husband and three children and is currently living the newborn days all over again with a brand-new rescue puppy.

Reviews
"A little idea between two women became a viral grassroots voluntary movement overnight." * People Magazine (about The Front Steps Project) *
"With so many feeling isolated or disconnected from friends, family and the rest of the world these days, something as simple as a happy photograph can keep us going." * CNN (about The Front Steps Project) *
"Relatives and friends united by the coronavirus pandemic are documenting their time together with casual group photographs - all inspired by The Front Steps Project." * Wall Street Journal (about The Front Steps Project) *
"As families isolate in close quarters, they could use a breath of fresh air and spark of joy. That's why photographers Cara Soulia and Kristen Collins launched The Front Steps Project as a way to cheer folks up, while helping members of their community." * The Obama Foundation (about The Front Steps Project) *
"Send Joy During a Stressful Year With a Holiday Card: For Ms. Staten, that meant purchasing red masks (she hot-glued white fuzzy Santa trim to her husband's) and enlisting a local photographer to capture her family of five from 10 feet away. Even that style of portraiture is a cultural outcrop of the pandemic: The photographer, Rachna Agrawal, first photographed the Statens for the Front Steps Project, for which photographers around the world captured socially distanced images of families as a way to raise funds for local nonprofits and small businesses." * New York Times *
"25 Reasons for Hope in America in 2020: In these uncertain times, a celebration of creative people, inspiring acts, natural beauty and much-needed good news. #1 The Front Steps Project. During the early days of quarantine, friends Kristen Collins and Cara Soulia began photographing their Needham, Mass., community to foster connection and collect donations for small businesses. The project spread across the country, raising over $3.35 million and inspiring a photo book, out late November." * People magazine *



Book Information
ISBN 9781513265858
Author Kristen Collins
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint Graphic Arts Books
Publisher Graphic Arts Books