Apr. 3—Morgantown based boudoir photographer Natasha Sheme has done holiday fundraising campaigns through her business, Boudoir by Natasha Anne, in the past but in November 2021 she knew she wanted to do something a little bit different.
Sheme has lived in Morgantown for about three years after moving here from Washington, D.C., where she first started her photography business. Originally from Long Island, N.Y., Sheme said she started Boudoir by Natasha Anne because she wanted to blend her love of psychology with her love for artistry while inspiring women through body positivity.
A new family member reminded Sheme of something else she felt passionate about and a plan for her Boudoir for a Cause 2021 campaign began to form.
"Animals have always been a huge part of my life, you know, something I connect with, " Sheme said. "We just recently got a puppy in August. He is a border collie and he is just wonderful and I was thinking about how I could do something a little bit different."
"I connected with these amazing women who run the Appalachian Peace Paw Rescue and I actually did a whole interview with them and we talked about their goals and their objectives."
Sheme decided she would give those who made a $100 donation toward Appalachian Peace Paws Rescue a complimentary boudoir photo session certificate. According to Sheme, a boudoir session normally costs $499 plus tax.
Boudoir photo shoots can be intimidating for many women, but response to the campaign was huge, Sheme said. In total, $6, 500 was raised for the pet rescue organization.
"A donation like this is a literally life saving and life altering opportunity for many animals who would otherwise probably die, " Appalachian Peace Paws representatives said. "It gives us the ability to say yes to a plea for help with a cat with a broken leg, to get emergency supplies needed to care for delicate bottle babies, to pull a dog off the euthanasia list at an overcrowded shelter."
The small non-profit organization is run entirely by volunteers who said they get a lot of requests for assistance via email, Facebook and other social media, and even by people sharing their personal phone numbers. Many of these requests are for animals with serious injuries or life-threatening illnesses that need help right away to save their lives.
"These 'impossible odds' cases are some of our favorites for rescue because they really speak to our hearts, " they said. "But that emergency visit and follow up care can be quite expensive, especially if an animal needs an amputation or lots of medication to get well."