Greenwich Woman Photographs Families For 'Front Steps Project'

GREENWICH, CT — At a time when many families and loved ones feel distant from each other due to the new coronavirus, a Greenwich woman has been taking photos of families together on their front steps. In the process, she has been able to raise money for local hospitals.

According to Danielle Coleman, an Old Greenwich resident, "The Front Steps Project" was an initiative started by a Massachusetts photographer.

"I was just one of many other photographers throughout the country who hopped on board," Coleman said in an email to Patch.

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For this project, Coleman took pictures of families, primarily in the Old Greenwich area of town, in front of their homes and from a safe distance. In exchange for the digital photo, participating families were asked to make a "good faith donation" to COVID-19 funds set up at either Greenwich Hospital or the Stamford Health hospital.

The project was designed to do two things: raise money for these local charities and to bring people together at a time when many are isolated. In total, Coleman photographed nearly 80 families.

"It was extremely fun to interact with everyone," Coleman said. "I almost cried the first morning when I [photographed] a friend and her family. I hadn't interacted with anyone other than my family in a few weeks at that point, and I didn't realize how much I missed the social connection."

While Coleman could not say exactly how much was donated to both hospitals as result of the project, she said a number of families who participated shared the amount they donated with her. From this, she was estimates at least $8,000 has been given to the hospitals' COVID-19 funds as a result of her photos.

In a Patch local hero submission, Coleman's friend and fellow Old Greenwich resident, Andi Cosby, praised Coleman for bringing the project to their area of town.

"Danielle did an amazing job organizing The Front [Steps] Project for our town," Cosby said in her submission. "She donated her talent, time and energy to make sure the two largest hospitals in our community...had the funds needed to serve those in our area affected by COVID-19 safely.

Coleman said she currently is not taking more photos for the project due to being "over her head" in post-processing, so she has encouraged other photographers to step in and volunteer their time. She also encourages any families who want to take part in the project to look for participating photographers in their area.

Coleman, meanwhile, takes pride in having achieved what she hoped for when she started contributing to the project.

"My main goal was to raise some money for our healthcare heroes," Coleman said, "but also to put a smile on people's faces and to document this crazy moment in time."