Robert Charles Photography Raises $20,000 for Baystate Children’s Hospital

HOLYOKE — Last week, Robert Charles Photography presented a $20,000 check to Baystate Children’s Hospital, raised during the studio’s 10th annual holiday-portrait fund-raiser.

The effort began when studio founder and president Robert Charles Zemba was diagnosed with glioblastoma, multiforme type IV brain cancer in 2005. At the time, he was told it was a terminal condition and that he had six months to two years ahead of him; that was more than a decade ago. Upon learning of his condition, he asked that any support being offered to him be redirected to children with the same affliction. This was the beginning of his effort to help patients at Baystate Children’s Hospital.

To attain the goal of $20,000, Robert Charles Photography reached out to multiple local businesses, and 100{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of those contacted offered their support. Delaney House, 94.7 WMAS, Ryan James Videography, Family Bike, Kiddly Winks, Fred Marion, Pop’s Biscotti and Chocolate, Little Bear, and the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce all contributed in some way.

“To say we are fortunate to be part of the Western Massachusetts community is a true understatement,” said Zemba. “With the help of local businesses and countless amazing families, we were able to bring our cumulative total to over $100,000 for Baystate Children’s Hospital. It was a wonderful team effort and demonstrated how even small businesses can make a large impact in their community.”

As the only full-service accredited children’s hospital in the region, Baystate Children’s Hospital provides a comprehensive range of children’s primary care and subspecialty services — more than 50 inpatient and outpatient services in all, including many not found elsewhere in the region.

Each year, more than 40,000 local children are seen at Baystate Children’s Hospital, from newborn infants to adolescents. The facility also includes the areas only Pediatric Emergency Department and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which is the regional tertiary-care facility for newborn infants delivered in Western Mass. who require highly specialized care.