I had the honor of working with photographer Rick Smee to create a beautiful coffee table book of photographs from his humanitarian work with The Great Football Giveaway, a UK-based charity whose mission is to donate footballs to children who live in areas of extreme poverty around the world.

No kid should be denied the chance to kick a ball about. It’s one of life’s most simple pleasures.

So that’s what we’re here for. To get sports equipment direct into the hands (or feet) of some of the world’s most disadvantaged kids.

More balls, more smiles. Simple…

Why give a ball?

Footballs not only provide some much needed fun, but they can also be used to help increase school attendance and performance overnight. Alternatively, kids from villages that once fought each other in war, can now use football to play together in peace. All around the world orphan centres, local run organisations and community projects can use footballs to draw kids off the street and into care. Put simply, footballs are a hugely resourceful tool.

Rick joined The Great Football Giveaway in Angola and captured the excitement on the children’s faces as they received their footballs. The book contains amazing portraits of the people of Angola, and Rick also provides great narratives describing his experiences as he traveled through the provinces of Huambo and Lubango.

The book is an amazing testament to the power of a single kind act. Through Rick’s photographs, you can see the joy in the children’s faces as they receive the footballs and the gifts of play and friendship. Like Paul Clarke (founder of The Great Football Giveaway) said, “Simple…”

Below are a few spreads from the book so you can get a glimpse of Rick’s beautiful photography and share in his experience as an ambassador for The Great Football Giveaway.

Click on the link below to view book details or purchase a copy.

The Great Foot…

By Rick Smee

Book Preview

This is just one reason why I love making books. It’s awesome to get the chance to design a love story.

(Below is just a peek. The rest is for the twosome only…)

Click here for a book preview.

What’s amazing about this book is that it could be used as a geography/world history textbook. The photographs are awesome, and the information it contains is excellent. Did you know that one silk worm cocoon can make 1000 meters of thread? I didn’t know that until I made this book!

Want to see a preview? Click here.

The book contains more than 30 pages of photographs of her daughters (the “SISTERS”) over the past 20 years.

Click here to see a preview of the book.

The book’s introduction was written by a child psychologist in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In the intro, she explains the importance of encouraging children to ask questions (like Yisrael). And some of the questions that Yisrael asks in the book are really intriguing: “Mommy, do I really have to leave home when I grow up?”

Click here to preview the inside of the book.

The book is a collection of photographs from the annual fundraising event, the Gladiator Games, sponsored by Knoxville Leadership Foundation (KLF). The Gladiator Games tests the strength and stamina of its participants in eight different athletic events, including swimming, weightlifting, a 1-mile run, and a challenging obstacle course!

Funds raised from the event go to help KLF and its programs.

The Knoxville Leadership Foundation brings together people from all walks of life to address the needs of our city. We target five specific areas of need: homes for the working poor, home repair for those who can’t afford it, help for non-profit groups, mentoring for children with parents in prison, and an abstinence program to help prevent teenage pregnancy.

We were proud to volunteer as photographers for the Gladiator Games. And I was excited to design this book, which is now on sale to raise more funds for KLF!

The book is a 10×8 Blurb book, and is available in three different formats: softcover, hardcover with dust jacket, and hardcover with ImageWrap. The book is filled with more than 60-pages of photographs from the Gladiator Games, arranged in order of the events. The winners of the Games are featured in the book, and information about KLF is included at the end, along with the KLF’s mission statement and vision.

Take a minute, and click here to check out a preview of the book. Your purchase of this book will help the KLF and its programs support the needs of our growing community.