About Us

Inspired by the Friendship of Two Little Boys…

JB and Jamie, both three years old, became instant best friends after meeting in a playground on the Upper West Side of New York City. JB lived in the Bronx but his father brought him to this Manhattan playground almost every day.

Shortly after the boys met, Jamie’s mother began photographing them playing – climbing on the jungle gym, swinging on swings, tearing up the playground like Olympic sprinters. She also made a special effort to photograph JB with his father, who was elderly, in fragile health and clearly did not have money for photographs or cameras (JB’s mom was no longer part of the family).

Over the next two years, JB’s father’s health worsened and eventually he went into the hospital for an extended stay. A foster care caseworker contacted Jamie’s family to ask if they would they take care of JB during this time. They agreed and photographs of JB now included new settings: walks along the Hudson River, breakfast at a firehouse, JB washing a car. JB eventually went to live with an aunt who lived nearby, and the photographs taken by Jamie’s mother now captured JB’s relatives, family friends, and new neighborhood.

In late 2010, almost five years after Jamie and JB first met, Jamie’s mom decided to create a Shutterfly album for JB with all his photographs. She cropped and arranged his pictures, making certain that those of JB posing with his father, who had passed away earlier that year, were prominent. Jamie and his mom gave the photo album to JB on Christmas day.

His reaction was unexpected … and one Jamie’s mom would never forget.

JB stared at the first photograph for several minutes in motionless concentration. Next page, same thing. The boy who rarely sat still was completely mesmerized. When he arrived at the first photo with his father, JB started talking non-stop: “Remember when my dad would whistle for me in the playground?”. “Remember that hat my dad always wore?” When JB reached the end of the book he flipped back to page one and started his intense gazing all over again.

That day Jamie’s mother realized the full significance of the album. Those photos helped JB piece together his disjointed childhood AND, equally importantly, they gave him a way to share his story with others. She knew she had to make him a promise. For the rest of her life she vowed she would keep his childhood photographs safe for him. He would always have photographs from his early days.

That pledge led Jamie’s mom to start thinking. She e-mailed JB’s case manager, Shanequa, with questions about other children in foster care. Did they have photos? Do they need photos?

Shanequa’s response was the start of Photo Safe.

Click here to see the e-mail exchange between Photo Safe’s co-creators, Karen Segal and Shanequa Anderson.