Newtown Beautiful Baby Photo Contest to Benefit Soldier Returning Home

Newtown’s annual Beautiful Baby Photo Contest is kicking off and looking for photos of children (newborn – 4-years-old) to be posted on its voting booth.

The contest is a friendly competition and a cute fundraiser to help an American soldier returning home with life-altering injuries receive a free custom handicap house through the ‘Homes For Our Troops’ national nonprofit. It is a baby photo contest, not a live pageant. 100 percent of money raised goes to Homes for Our Troops.

It’s only $10 to enter a photo. The child need not live in Newtown and the winning family rides in a chauffeur-driven convertible, provided by Mercedes of Danbury, in the Newtown Labor Day Parade as the “Beautiful Baby Winner”. All children and their families are invited to march as the “Beautiful Babies Helping Heroes”.

Every child entered will receive a coupon good for a free 8 X 10 portrait at the JC Penny Lifetouch Studio in Danbury Fair Mall – an $18 value.

The money raised by 2015’s contest will be earmarked for a house being built on Long Island for Marine Sergeant Remache, who, due to a grenade blast, lost both legs above the knees in a traumatic amputation. Remache also sustained elbow, stomach, and severe damage to both hands in Afghanistan due to the blast and also small arms fire.

To enter the Beautiful Baby Photo Contest, send a $10 check made payable to “Homes For Our Troops” and a non-returnable 4 X 4” photo, with the baby’s name, email address (if you have one), and contact phone number written clearly on the back, to Baby Contest; c/o Lois Barber; 33 Zoar Road; Sandy Hook, CT 06482 The “Voting Booth” will be displayed at Stop & Shop, Sand Hill Plaza, Newtown for two weeks during the month of June.

The public will vote for their favorite by placing dollar bills or checks in a slot above the child’s photo on the voting booth. The winner is determined by whose photo has raised the most amount of money to help this soldier. Multiple votes and stuffing the ballot box are encouraged. You may vote by check made payable to “Homes for Our Troops”, and all checks are tax-deductible.

For more information, about the Beautiful Baby Contest, email babycontest2010@gmail.com or call 203 270-8017.

Visit Homes For Our Troops for more information about the non-profit the contest will benefit.

Photo by Lois Barber

Makayla Ile, 4 (far right) with her sisters Mia, 11 and Jennah, 9 and her mom, Joanna, in front of the Beautiful Baby voting booth. Mia and Jennah are holding a blowup poster of the photograph that won Makayla the title of Newtown’s Most Beautiful Baby in 2013.

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