CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Professional photographers were behind the click and flash of working cameras Saturday, but not on any red carpet.
The stars were some of the hundred parents and children in the Salvation Army's Zelma George Family Shelter, in focus during Help Portrait Day, a world-wide event meant to bring hope and holiday cheer to those in need.
Shelley Shockley organized the local event that began here in 2012. The global observance started in 2008.
Shockley led a small army of volunteers who included shelter staffers, three photographers besides Shockley herself, three stylists and two barbers, all of whom worked as the parents, mostly moms, watched a whirlwind of children frolic in the shelter's gym.
The product was portraiture, in 4-by-6 and 8-by-10-inch formats.
"It's a way to give them a little bit of peace for a day," said Shockley, Cleveland Public Power's marketing manager.
"They may not be feeling that good about themselves," she said. "We try to bring out the light within them, the light that is in us all."
Tabitha Neff, the children's activity coordinator at the shelter, said 60 to 70 of the 100 residents are children, and many of the mothers are single moms.
"It is one of the few (shelters) that also accepts dads with kids," she said.
Many of the women are victims of human trafficking or domestic violence, with at least one who suffered a house fire, Neff said.
Lacquita Smith was there with daughter Janiah, 7, and son 18-month-old son Elijah, "because we had no place to go."
"But we got a nice picture," she said.
Joey Luna, owner of Joey's Scissors on Lorain Avenue in Cleveland, said he heard about the event from a friend and volunteered his skills.
The kids also go to sit on the lap of Santa Claus, played by Marcus Rutledge Sr., who works for the state in the mental health field.
Another volunteer was Gerardo Colon Jr., a Cleveland firefighter who took pictures on the move to document the spirit of the day.
Assisting him were his mom, Maria Rodriguez, and son, Gionni, who turns 2 in February.
Shockley said the event normally averages about 50 people in residence at the shelter, and it is not advertised for the general public.