In honour of World Kindness Day, we invite students aged 12-18 to enter our competition, The Young Photographer Challenge. Students should submit a photograph they have taken of an act of kindness, along with a short caption explaining what's happening. Creativity is highly encouraged!
The response was fantastic. We received over 400 amazing photographs, depicting everything from students volunteering, families lending a helping hand to their relatives, to dogs looking after each other post-surgery! As a result, we have made a donation to Mind, a brilliant and worthwhile charity that works to offer mental health support to anyone who requires it.
We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to submit a photograph; your entries demonstrated passion, creative flair and true acts of kindness. Whitling all the responses down to a shortlist was not easy but we’ve selected our favourite photos below!
Congratulations to our winner, Megan from Queen Mary’s College, who will now receive an in-person place on an InvestIN one-day immersive career experience of their choice! We also thought our shortlisted entries were just so fantastic that we have offered them all a live online place on an InvestIN programme of their choice too!
You can find our fabulous, shortlisted entries below, all of which will also be shared across our social media. Happy scrolling!
WINNER
Borneo Sunrise
Megan, Queen Mary’s College
“In the summer of 2022 I travelled to Borneo, to help build roads, community centres, teach children and make furniture for schools. This photo I feel that the sunrise shows that by bringing people together a lot can be done to make someone else less fortunate than us have an opportunity.”
InvestIN’s comments: We loved how Megan captured the importance of people coming together to support others, showing how many hands can make light work! The careful composition draws you into the central figures and we especially liked the artistic contrast between the photo's strong lowlights and vibrant highlights! The fact Megan personally undertook volunteering in Borneo is also extremely commendable - we know the community she helped will be very grateful
RUNNER-UP
Ricky’s 6th Decade Surprise
Bryson, King’s Fork High School
“Me and my family carried out a surprise party for my uncle in law, without his knowledge, allowing him to see his mother for the first time in some years in person and others to visit since Covid kept us apart.”
InvestIN’s comments: We absolutely loved this image! We thought it was heart-warming to see how Bryson captured the joy of the surprise so vividly. We thought the composition was fantastic - the way you captured the spontaneity with the off-centre angle brought real life to this photograph. It's so important to put family first and we think that this shines through in this joyful image.
RUNNER-UP
Little Legs
Natalie, Learning Unlimited Prepatory School
“Hiking up the Caribbean island of Saba’s Mount Scenery is not an easy task, especially for little legs. Captured in the photograph is the kindness of my father carrying my little cousin after her legs got tired from all the stairs leading to the summit of the volcano.”
InvestIN’s comments: We really liked how Natalie captured the importance of family in this photo. With the simplicity of the green tones, you are drawn to the figures in the middle, allowing you to feel immersed in their story. The title of little legs also fits perfectly! We know from experience that parents always show unlimited kindness to their children, so this struck a chord with us at InvestIN.
Highly commended
Job Well Done
Paige, Li Po Chun – United World College
“After an amazing performance, the actors/performers of this group thank their leader as she tears up during this overwhelming experience. Job well done APEC”
Highly commended
Help For The Less-Fortunate
Ignacio, The London Oratory School
“I took this picture in a poor area in the Argentinian province of Buenos Aires. With some other volunteers, I helped a family to build a toilet for themselves because they did not have one, as is often the case in many of these poor areas. It gave them joy.”
Highly commended
A Small Gesture
Andrea, Washington International School
“I witnessed a subtle act of kindness, I watched two strangers help each other bring their sleds to the top of the hill. I wanted to capture the big space around this small act, showing how small gestures of kindness can actually be the center of attention and can make a big difference.”
inspired to take your kindness further? HERE’S 5 WAYS YOU CAN BE KIND THIS WEEK:
- Be kind to your environment: take your unwanted clothes to the charity shop
- Be kind to your friends: send an appreciative message to your friend to let them know you value them
- Be kind to your community: help a neighbour bring in their shopping
- Be kind to your family: offer to cook dinner (or help out!)
- Be kind to yourself: unplug from technology and get outside
