Jay Perry is a professional, award-winning photographer and philanthropist from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. His portfolio includes artist such as Snoop Dogg, Usher ad Gwen Stefani as well as clients such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, GO Transit and Boston Pizza. Jay traveled to Haiti after the devastating 2010 hurricane to volunteer. It was there he produced his award-winning photo, ‘Kettenie-Love.’ He continues to grow as an artist and is expanding his experimental portraiture portfolio. His passion project, ‘Friends With Hearts,’ was started with a vision to help bring the magic of Christmas to families in need.
What was your ‘Ah-ha’ moment for Friends with Hearts (FWH)?
We started in 2011. The first year it was just an idea to bring friends together and help some families in need. It started with asking 9 other friends to come on board with me and donate $25 each to help out one family. But that instantly grew to multiple friends and $1400 by the end of it. It started with 9 friends that raised $1400 to buy gifts. Our goal was $250. My mom wrapped all the gifts. After that, I realized that this is a scalable idea and it needs to be in other cities.
I remember participating in some Good Shepherd drives in school and reached out to them. They were on board, but originally asked to donate unwrapped gifts. But we worked together on a solution and I explained to them the importance of our ‘wrapping parties’. It dawned on me to have these wrapping parties because it brought the community together. I remember thinking back to when I was in Haiti. They are economically poor, but more socially wealthy than us. I think it’s because they are more dependent and need each other to survive.
Why is FWH so important to you?
I grew up in a family where we didn’t economically suffer. There are three main mottos that drive me with FWH’s: Sense of Responsibility, Share the Wealth and Give back to the Community. This is the reason it continues.
What’s your 5 year vision for FWH?
I want to triple the amount of groups to 15. My goal is to have groups in every major city across Canada, as well as to continue to expand into the US. Ideally, I would like FWH not to partner with a charity, but to be a registered non-for-profit. It would cool to have a ‘Friends With Hearts,’ Day when every organization across North America has their wrapping party. Currently, these parties are done on different days, primarily because every city partners with a different charity that has their own deadlines.
This year we’ve added groups in NYC and Niagara. I posted a video announcing this and we had approximately 12,000 views. In November, I spoke at the Socialite Conference in Vancouver that empowers and supports early startups, leaders and entrepreneurs.
We’ll be doing some live Facebook streaming from the wrapping parties this year.
Is FWH consumerization? What is it teaching our youth?
Everyone has their own opinion. We want to give kids the ability to go back to school and not feel left out after Christmas. We want them to feel, “normal.” A lot of things we buy are necessities, not just toys. It is a moral boost for the family. I cannot imagine being a parent not being able to support your family during Christmas. It really helps turn lives around.
What happens after Christmas?
FWH is only seasonal because it takes a lot of time and a sacrifice of paid work. I would love to be able to help these families all year, for that happen, we need a bigger team. The problem with growth you need full time people on board. Currently, all our money goes toward the gifts. It’s a struggle to continue it as is or hire people and pay them.
What transferable skills are you able to use from photography and apply them to FWH?
- Social media. It’s the way we communicate today.
- Dealing with people on a personal level. In the photography business, it’s essential you connect with people. They work with me because they are comfortable. In order for people to donate money to you, they need to trust you and FWH is a perfect example of this.
What has been your biggest hurdle with FWH?
It’s been growing a team that works for free. You need to find people that are as passionate about FWH, as I am. There are many organizations out there and transparency is key. I thinking our, ‘wrapping parties’ help with that.
The biggest thing I realized was that I can’t do this all by myself.
If you had a chance to start over with Friends With Hearts, is there something you would do differently? If yes, what would it be?
There is nothing I would do differently. It was learning process. I had no expectations and this was a side project. Now it’s become successful.
What are your goals for 2017 in regards to photography?
I want to focus on more campaigns, movies, posters and creative portraiture. I would like to specialize in darker, dramatic imagery. Some say weird, but it’s interesting to me. I also want to rent out my space more for whatever.
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