Emily is the founder of a little rae of hope as well as the owner and photographer of Emily Bennett Photography. After teaching in Avon schools for three years she got a job teaching kindergarten at North Salem. Her first year there she had a student named Leah Wasson who had been diagnosed with Leukemia six months prior. After Leah finished kindergarten, Emily stayed close with her family. Once Leah relapsed in June of 2013, just two months after Emily had her son, she decided she would stay home and apply to be Leah’s homebound service instructor. Emily tutored Leah weekly both at home and in the hospital. She photographed Leah’s family multiple times in the three years she knew them. When Leah passed away in February of 2014 Emily knew that this would not be the end of her relationship with the Wasson’s. Finally, she realized what her greatest gift had been to the Wasson family – the photographs she had taken of their sweet brown eyed girl. That is when she knew that she needed to begin a little rae of hope. With the dream that this organization will help families nationwide hold on to memories of their loved ones both during and after their battle is done.
Emily was born and raised in Putnam County. She and her husband, Bobby, now live in Lizton, Indiana with their son, daughter, and chocolate lab. When she doesn’t have a camera in her hand, she loves spending time her family on her parents farm, shopping at Target, playing with her nieces and nephews, and reading.
