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Institute Insights: Help make a difference on Giving Tuesday

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Luzerne County Council 2020 budget whittling expected to start Tuesday

<p>EDWARDSVILLE &#8212; It doesn&#8217;t take a blizzard to create a winter wonderland.</p><p>With some fake snow, a tree or two and the big man in the red suit, Amy Bezek transformed her own home into the North Pole, all for a very good cause.</p><p>Bezek, a photographer for more than 15 years, has spent the last couple of years organizing mini-shoots revolving around holiday to raise money for various charitable and nonprofit organizations.</p><p>This holiday season, she&#8217;s offered up her own home for children to take pictures with Santa Claus, with all proceeds going directly to Dinner for Kids, a nonprofit organization founded by the former owner of Ollie&#8217;s Restaurant in Kingston, David Tevet which aims to feed hungry children in the area.</p><p>&#8220;All of my mini-sessions are geared to raise awareness and fund raise toward local nonprofits,&#8221; Bezek said. &#8220;I like to be positive, give good energy, and help anyone I can. There are so many nonprofits that people don&#8217;t even know exist.&#8221;</p><p>So far, Bezek says that she&#8217;s raised over $1,200 dollars for Dinner for Kids using shoots on a Christmas tree farm as well as Santa sessions on Saturday and Sunday.</p><p>&#8220;When you find out how many kids are starving locally, you&#8217;ll cry,&#8221; Bezek said.</p><p>She&#8217;s also organized shoots for Easter, Mother&#8217;s Day and Father&#8217;s Day, as well as a special sessions for senior citizens.</p><p>The weather outside may be frightful, but that didn&#8217;t stop more than 20 families from stopping by Bezek&#8217;s Edwardsville home/studio to get their pictures taken with Santa.</p><p>Ed and Mary James brought their two sons &#8211; Noah, 5, and Benjamin, 1 &#8211; in for pictures. While it&#8217;s not always easy to get children of such a young age to pose with Santa Claus, Bezek is a master at her craft, patiently waiting for the right moment and knowing exactly what to say to get the children to sit still, smile and get that perfect snapshot.</p><p>The James family has been coming to see Bezek for three years, and they&#8217;ve always been completely satisfied with their service.</p><p>&#8220;You won&#8217;t find another photographer in the valley like Amy,&#8221; Ed James said.</p><p>The James children, decked out in matching Christmas red, played with ornaments, accepted candy canes and threw snow in the air before giving Santa their Christmas lists. To his credit, Saint Nick kept a smile and a cheery spirit throughout the proceedings, offering up candy canes and Christmas cheer.</p><p>The James were one of the last families to have their session, around 1:30 p.m., but Bezek said that she still had a few families left to go. She aims to raise almost $1,700 total for Dinner for Kids.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Benjamin James, 1, walks toward photographer Amy Bezek as his brother Noah, 5, and Santa Claus look on. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_James-family.jpg</photo0><caption0>Benjamin James, 1, walks toward photographer Amy Bezek as his brother Noah, 5, and Santa Claus look on. </caption0><photoCredit0>Kevin Carroll | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_James-familyCMYK.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Benjamin James, 1, walks toward photographer Amy Bezek as his brother Noah, 5, and Santa Claus look on. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_James-familyCMYK.jpg</photo1><caption1>Benjamin James, 1, walks toward photographer Amy Bezek as his brother Noah, 5, and Santa Claus look on. </caption1><photoCredit1>Kevin Carroll | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Local photographer raises funds for Dinner for Kids</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Kevin Carroll</p><p>kcarroll@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>