American Photo Mission Series - Sponsored by Microsoft

War-torn countries. Starving children. Poverty-stricken villages. Homeless people begging to survive. Corrupt officials. These are the photographs that we see all around us – saturating the news magazines and winning award after award. These pictures show us the suffering of others, the problems our world encounters and the faces of those we choose to blame for such problems. But what about those who see beyond the pictures to the people themselves? What about the quiet heroes that take it upon themselves to change the pictures they see, to make another person’s life better? Shouldn’t these selfless volunteers be recognized?

Richard Rabinowitz envisioned doing just that – recognizing those who strive day-in and day-out to make our world a better place, whether they are housewives making phone calls for donations or doctors doing free cleft-palate surgery in India. He knew there were people out there from all walks of life that had decided to step up to the plate and make a difference in someone else’s life. So instead of another exposé of today’s problems or the people accused of causing them, he and Kostas Mallios of Microsoft conceived the idea of creating a collection that honored the social entrepreneurs and their solutions to those issues. The result? The American Photo Mission Series, organized by the magazine American Photo and funded by Microsoft.

A typical cell on the Puppies Behind Bars unit at Fishkill Penitentiary.From the Puppies Behind Bars section of The Roots of Compassion: Social Entrepreneurs in New York City. © 2006 Phil Borges / Fillipacchi Publishing

Six photographers were asked to go out and document volunteerism, using their cameras to capture the spirit that drives certain people to sacrifice time and effort for others. They took on the task and spread across the world on their mission.

Matthew Jordan Smith took on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Art Wolfe headed out the Alaska to observe the efforts of Earth Justice, a group of environmental lawyers currently attempting to prevent drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. Vincent Versace documented the work of InnVision, which serves the homeless people in Silicon Valley. Steve McCurry spent time with ImagineAsia, a not-for-profit organization that he helped create to provide education and health care for Hazara children. Frank Jacobs photographed the New Jersey Special Olympics. And Phil Borges, who has started three volunteer organizations himself – the latest being Bridges to Understanding, where children of indigenous children are connected with their urban contemporaries and centers on photographic storytelling, searched out New York City’s heroes.

Borges is best known for documenting indigenous cultures around the world, through which he strives to create a better understanding of the issues that the people of developing countries face. According to Borges, he tries to connect the viewer with his subject, making them see a person with a face and name instead of a vague member of a distant culture. The American Photo Mission Series was right up his alley – in 2003, he was awarded the Humanitarian Award at the 1st Annual International Photography Awards.

In March 2003, Elizabeth Smart was reunited with her parents, Ed and Lois, after being abducted by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee and held hostage for 9 months. Ed Smart has since acknowledged the critical, specialized training NCMEC brings to law officers nationwide. © 2006 Matthew Jordan Smith

It is the work of Borges, along with photographer Ian Wingfield that is showcased in The Roots of Compassion: Social Entrepreneurs in New York City. The book contains portraits of the directors or founders of eleven volunteer projects in New York, along with various photographs of the day-to-day efforts of those who participate and the people they serve. From New York Cares providing activities for disadvantaged children, to Puppies Behind Bars, which trains prison inmates to raise puppies to be guide dogs, Borges and Wingfield discovered a hidden community of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Ron Cabiltes (front right), other volunteers, and Sports Adventure kids listen as physical education instructor Kevin Staybace explains the relay rules. From the NYC Cares section of The Roots of Compassion: Social Entrepreneurs in New York City. © 2006 Phil Borges / Fillipacchi Publishing

Wingfield’s photographs bring the projects to life, providing candid shots of volunteers working and those helped by the program. The vivid smiles he catches on their faces say more than any words could about the good these organizations do. The shots range from children in groups to senior citizens playing shuffleboard, but they all share one thing in common – the happiness that radiates from the pictures. Borges’ grayscale portraits skillfully add faces to each organization. Clearly defined figures appear on a blurred background, indicating the decision these amazing people made to step out of the background and into the lives of others. Men and women, young and old, Borges’ pictures go beyond their appearances and bring the viewer a sense of the subject’s heart and determination – something Borges knows about from experience.

All in all, Rabinowitz’s labor of love and the work of two extremely talented photographs leave you with a feeling that you, too, can make a difference. Why not start now? Contact information for all the organizations are in the book and profits from the book’s sale goes to charity. It’s your turn to discover the roots of compassion that grow in New York City.