There are about 2,000 young veterans returning with life-altering injuries. Many of them are on a waitlist to get a totally handicap accessible house through the national nonprofit Homes for Our Troops. I have been orgainzing an annual Beautiful Baby Photo Contest fundraiser for the past 9 years, with 100% of the money raised being donated to the house being built closest to my Connecticut town.

Above each photo on the voting booth is a piggybank slit into which dollar bills or checks made payable to ‘Homes for Our Troops’ is inserted. The baby whose photo raises the most amount of money wins the title and is featured in our local parade behind a banner that reads “Beautiful Baby Winner”. Our local Mercedes dealership sends a chauffeur-driven convertible to drive the family in style. It is the cutest fundraiser ever!

My contest was featured in Woodcraft Magazine. There is a link on the article for the plans on how to build a booth. I am hoping for sister contests to pop up throughout the USA to help raise the needed funds for these heroes. https://www.woodcraft.com/blog_entries/building-a-project-that-helps-build-homes-for-veterans You can build a white booth with pink and blue trim if you do not want a wooden booth.

Dr Dorrance Kelly, an oral surgeon who served with the Marines sponsored and paid for the banner, and Mercedes of Danbury, CT sends the car and driver for free. I am sure you can find local service organizations or individuals and dealerships to help you in your town. I even get local celebrities to carry the banner. That’s my daughter and her friend carrying the banner in this photo, but last year two radio personalities carried the banner, and I’ve also gotten a toy designer from Luke’s Toy Factory (made in America eco-friendly toys) and the Mayor to carry.

If you ever wanted to help our wounded military heroes, but didn’t know how, maybe this idea is for you, or for the service organization you belong to. Print out the plans and bring them to a local carpenter or general contractor. Feel free to contact me for guidance or tips on how to run your Beautiful Baby Contest. I am under “Lois Imbriano Barber” on Facebook or contact me through Creator’s Studio.

Photos: Randy Muller- the auto body worker who designed and built the booth

Rylee Everetts – this year’s winner with the most popular photo ever submitted

Photo Voting Booth to help Wounded Military