Front Porch Project: bringing local families together and giving back to the community

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – A local woman is using her photography skills to bring families together and give back to the community.

Lindsey Folkerts is a real estate agent but also does photography as a hobby.

She saw the Front Porch Project happening across the country, a movement where families get their pictures taken on their front porch from a safe distance away.

So she brought the project to Topeka to help make memories for families during the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is kind of just a step back from that to be able to do something different and look back on it and remember this time no matter how crazy it may be,” Folkerts said.

On Sunday, Lindsey helped capture some of those front porch memories for 9 families in Topeka, including the Hemsleys.

“It’s brought us closer together as a family, we’ve had to learn new ways of functioning in the day and school and work. and everything, our worlds just kind of turned upside down,” the Hemsleys said.

And it was all for a good cause too. Instead of paying Lindsey for the pictures, each family donated to Harvesters, a food pantry in town.

“Having a family that maybe can’t afford their next meal, that’s huge. so being able to help somebody like that in this time is really important,” Folkerts said.

What started out as just capturing a few, family moments, turned into a chance for these families to be grateful for time spent on the front porch.

And reflect on some of the good that’s come out of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We always say to each other and one another, obstacles can become opportunities and setbacks can become setups,” The Hemsley’s said. “And we believe that the Topeka community together and the broader statewide community can learn a number of lessons and learn to move forward together and we’re happy to be a part of helping folks do that.”

Folkerts said the families she took pictures for on Sunday were able to raise more than $300 for Harvesters.