George Soules Photography recently became member 2,852 of 1% for the Planet. Why? If you're old enough, you'll remember those Remington Shaver TV commercials where Victor Kiam says "I liked the shaver so much, I bought the company." Well, I liked the staff at 1% so much, I joined the organization!

I first met some of the 1% staffers last August in the wake of destruction left by Hurricane Irene. They were volunteering as a cleanup crew at a local Vermont church where I was taking pictures. I asked them to pose for a group shot as they were filling wheelbarrows with plants from a farm garden that had been destroyed by the flood. There were four men and four women so we staged the shot to look like a wedding with rotting vegetation as the bouquet and the church steeple in the background. You can see that and other Irene photos here.

I remember thinking at the time that these people were pretty cool to volunteer their time and pose for a crazy picture. I sent the photo to the "maid of honor" Brittany, and we stayed in touch. This spring I contacted her about taking 1% staff portraits as a way to donate something to 1% and build our professional portfolio. Though I've been a photographer since I was in high school, I kept my day job as a software architect for over 30 years. Now in my mid-fifties, I'm pursuing my passion for photography and seeking ways to use it to help others.

Our business had recently formalized its giving mission when we learned what 1% does. We realized that they could help us accomplish some of our goals more effectively than we could do alone. How? First, this is a great group of people as I learned from spending time with each of them during their photo sessions. They are committed to creating a healthy planet – that's their job. Second, there is strength in numbers. To date, 1% members as a network have channeled over $70 million to environmental organizations worldwide. Now, as a 1% member myself, I can honestly say that our business contributed and that's a good feeling (last week we made our first 1% inspired donation of $250 to the Vermont Land Trust).

When you feel good about what you do and where your money goes, it shows in your work and it shows in your smile. Below is proof in the faces of the team at 1% for the Planet in Waitsfield, Vermont. From left to right, top to bottom: Group, Terry, Pauline, Leah, Brodie, Rebecca, Barbara, Gaelan, Brittany, Kerry, Danny, Melody.

Thank you guys and gals of 1% for letting us take these portraits — the pleasure was all mine.

I had the privilege of photographing many of the volunteers who came to help with the cleanup effort following the wake of destruction in Vermont left by the flood waters of Hurricane Irene. Below are five Mennonite men who after working tirelessly all day long were kind enough to pose for this picture. Thanks guys and God bless you! You can see more of my favorite portraits of Irene on the main web site.

1% for the Planet is an alliance of businesses that donate at least 1% of their annual revenues to environmental organizations worldwide. Today they lent a helping hand at the Church of the Crucified One in Moretown, Vermont where ready-to-harvest crops were deemed unsafe to eat after being submerged in the flood waters of hurricane Irene.

In the photo below a hard working crew of volunteers from 1% for the Planet stage a mock wedding with the church in the background and ruined vegetables in the foreground. Hey, who says you can't have a little fun in the midst of a disaster. Thanks guys and gals — we so appreciate your help!

Rosemarie Trapp, daughter of Captain Georg von Trapp and Maria Augusta, and member of the Trapp Family Singers, came today to help with day five of the cleanup effort at the Church of the Crucified One in Moretown, Vermont. Rosemarie, now 83, is the eighth daughter of the Captain and first daughter of the governess-turned-wife who are widely known from the 1965 film “The Sound of Music.”

In the photo below she and church Pastor Fr. Paul Stewart are standing amidst debris from hurricane Irene. They are holding a cross that once belonged to her mother Maria von Trapp. It was recovered from the basement of the parsonage which was flooded with eight feet of water.

This is the second time the cross has been spared in a disaster. After I took the picture, Rosemarie told me a little about its history.

She said “This cross came to me when my mother died and they had her things out and you could choose what you wanted and nobody wanted the cross, but me. So I got the cross. I know it used to hang in my mother’s bedroom. And it was eye to eye hanging. She had a very small bedroom so when when you walked into her room the cross was right there at your eye level. That was here in Vermont and that’s the house [the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont] that burned down in 1980. So that was before it burned down -- I don’t know how they saved it out of the fire. My mother loved the cross and she loved Mary the mother of Jesus. That was her big faith, her faith in God was through Mary and Jesus. Amen.”

It was a joy for me to see Rosemarie today – she is a dear friend. And doesn’t she look sharp in those yellow work gloves.

These three boys had no trouble finding a way to have fun on hay bales that floated into their yard courtesy of hurricane Irene and the subsequent flooding she caused in Vermont.