Reflection on 2008

We are in the midst of our Holiday rush and we are pushing ourselves to the limit to get those gorgeous portraits into your hands in time for the holidays! Though we are exhausted and weary, it is really exciting to see so many familiar faces coming through our doors. We have so many wonderful memories of your families growing up through the years and look forward to many years to come!

One part of the holidays we at Ebert Studio look forward to is watching the fruit on the vine ripen. As many of you know every spring we donate studio time in exchange for a new unopened toy for charity. We call it “Tot with Toy” and have been doing it for 25+ years. Once Christmas time rolls around the toys get picked up for the kids! The toys are delivered to the Tolton Center at the DeLaSalle Institute on the west side of Chicago. We hope that making this small effort brings joy to the children on Christmas morning, it certainly brings us great joy to do it.

Once our holiday rush slows down we will start our annual “New Year, New Ideas” push.
Last year we developed two projects that we are very excited to bring back this year. The first is our “First Communion Donation Special”
Participating churches will receive 100% of your sitting fee ($100) when you bring your child in for a first communion portrait. We would like to get as many churches to participate as possible, if you want your church included in this donation please let us and them know you want to participate. Last year we had this special run through April, and will probably do the same this year.

The second project we want to bring back again this year is "Ebert's Kids With Cameras." Last Febuary we teamed up with a classroom of special needs children at Brooks Middle School, and created a photography project that really blew us away. The kids took pictures of people and things in their lives that were important to them. We chose a few images from each child and had the images enlarged and framed ( Frames generously donated from Frame Warehouse in Oak Park ) and then exhibited the peices in an artshow/ fundraiser. Many people in the community were able to buy a piece of original art for under $35 dollars. 100% of the proceeds were donated back to Brooks Middle School. This project was featured on the front page of the Wednesday Journal and we couldn't have been more excited about the enthusiasm the kids and community showed about it.


As some of you may know, two members of our staff have special needs children and we feel it is important to create projects that create awareness. This year we have a few projects up our sleeves that focus on Autism Awareness so stay tuned!

Ebert Studio is in many ways a vehicle for philanthropy, as we want to stay involved in the community and make it a better place for all of us. This year Ebert Studio was awarded the Oak Park "Human Relations Award" for all of the time, energy and resources donated by the studio for the last 30+ years to the Oak Park community. We were honored to accept the award and feel blessed that we can continue to give back. One of the ways we do that is by donating to auctions so that schools, hospitals, and non profit organizations can raise desperately needed funds. Keep your eyes peeled for Ebert Studio Gift Certificates when attending your next auction.

Our customers are our best friends! We appreciate the opportunity you have given us to photograph you through out the years, we love to create beautiful heirloom art for your family. Thank you for a wonderful year- You are what makes it possible for us to give back.
Happy Holidays From The Eberts