Photography exhibit has a lasting impact on Llano teens

Last month the Lutie Watkins Memorial United Methodist Church opened its doors for Michael Nye’s ‘Children of Children: Portraits and Stories of Teenage Parents’ exhibit. This free, multimedia exhibit is a collection of stunning black and white portraits accompanied by audio stories, as told by the individuals featured in the portraits, about how teen pregnancy affected their lives.
 
Vicki Krcha, Wesley Nurse at the Lutie Watkins Memorial UMC, applied for a transportation scholarship to arrange for the exhibit to be brought to Llano. “Teen pregnancy has a deep-rooted impact on not only the mother and child, but is felt community-wide,” explains Krcha.
 
To facilitate the showing, Vicki recruited volunteers to assist, placed advertisements in local newspapers and church periodicals, and met with school officials to promote.

An estimated 100 attendees visited the exhibit during the course of its weeklong showing. Among its visitors was Deidre Henderson’s Child Development Class from Llano High School. As a class exercise, Vicki made poster paper available for youth to share their thoughts and feelings after the viewing. These posters were later taken to the classroom to encourage further discussion.
 
“Visitors to the exhibit were struck by the beautiful photographs and touched by the sentiments shared through the audio recordings. Many people expressed their gratitude for having such an exhibit come to Llano,” exclaims Krcha. 

The exhibit was also used as a kick-off for a new Parents Helping Parents (PHP) support group which meets on Wednesdays from 5:30p.m. to 7:00p.m. at the Lutie Watkins Memorial UMC.  For more information about the PHP support group, contact Vicki at (325) 247-4009.

For more information about the ‘Children of Children' exhibit, call (877) 790-0192 or email info@mhm.org.