Wedding Photographers Hit the Road to Fight Human Trafficking

Online, January 2, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Minneapolis-based husband and wife photography duo, Jonny and Michelle Hoffner, begin an epic year-long adventure January 7th in Atlanta, Georgia taking them to all 50 states in just 50 weeks. The plan is to drive across the United States, photographing one wedding per state, per week, while donating $1,000 per wedding to the anti-human trafficking organization, She Dances.

Since photographing their first wedding back in 2008, the Hoffners have committed to donating 10% of their total earnings to support She Dances, a Birmingham-based non-profit organization, committed to providing holistic restoration for young girls who have been trafficked and sexually-exploited.

When plans were announced to open a safe home in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for young girls who have been sexually trafficked were announced, the Hoffners jumped at the chance to help.

"For six months in late 2009 and early 2010, Michelle and I had the amazing opportunity to take a trip around the world. We visited six continents and fifteen countries. They were the best six months of my life and were incredibly transformative to me as a photographer and as a person," said Jonny. "When we learned that She Dances was going to open a safe home in Honduras, we thought that it would be a perfect opportunity to travel around the U.S., continue to photograph weddings, raise as much money as possible for the safe home, all the while raising awareness for one of the most heinous, and fastest growing crimes in the world."

After officially announcing the Fifty Nifty tour in the winter of 2011, the Hoffners had the opportunity to visit the safe home in Honduras to meet the girls who are living there and receiving professional care.

"Going down and meeting the girls in the safe home in person, really put a face to this growing epidemic," said Michelle. "Human trafficking is so pervasive, it often feels like too large of a problem for any one person to make an impact. In the grand scheme of things, $50,000 is not a lot of money, but it is something substantial and will make such a difference in these girls' lives. This is our effort to not be weighed down by the magnitude of the problem and to do what we can with our lives and with our jobs to make a difference. That's what the Fifty Nifty is all about."

Follow the Hoffners on their 2012 Fifty Nifty Tour via Facebook and Twitter (#fiftynifty). The duo will also be providing up to the minute coverage from the road on their official Fifty Nifty website.

The Hoffners are available for media and educational interviews while on tour. Please email all inquiries to: [email protected]

Paper Antler Photography: Established in 2008, Paper Antler Photography specializes in creating and capturing imaginative work that honestly portrays the quirkiness, joy and beauty of a moment. Paper Antler's work has been featured in several notable wedding publications including, Brides Magazine, Style Me Pretty, Project Wedding, Minnesota Bride and Brava Magazine. www.paperantler.com

She Dances: Based in Birmingham, Alabama, She Dances is a 501k non-profit organization whose sole mission is to provide holistic restoration for young girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited in the country of Honduras. www.shedances.org