Boyle Heights youth photography nonprofit ransacked by burglars

A beloved Boyle Heights nonprofit organization aimed at inspiring children through photography was ransacked by burglars earlier this month, and now owners are asking the community for help keeping afloat. 

"It felt very violating," said Helen Alonzo Hurtado, Director of Las Fotos Project. 

The experience has been heartbreaking for Hurtado, who says it's disturbing to know that people would willingly take from children. 

"Over $65,000 worth of studio equipment and cameras had been stolen from our space," she said. "This is equipment our students enrolled in our career training program CEOs use."

She says that the thieves made off with crucial equipment when the nonprofit was hit two weeks ago on March 4, when they arrived to find that their shop had been ransacked.

"These projects help our students start earning economic independence through their art," Hurtado said. "But also helps sustain our nonprofit organization as the revenue we generate goes back into the organization to keep classes free for all students.

Las Fotos Project was founded in 2010, and since then they've used photography as a way to mentor teenage girls from communities of color, helping them get professional experience. 

Maria Romero, the studio's coordinator, knows how much the organization can make a difference since she herself was a student as a teenager. 

"Once I learned that I could study photography, I could work in a photography world," she said. "That really changed my life."

Empowered by what she learned at Las Fotos Project, Romero changed career paths and is now studying at the Arts Center College of Design, hopeful that her work can help someone in the same way. 

"I'm still working here because I know a lot of the students here are feeling the same things that I experienced," Romero said. 

They started an online fundraiser the day that they were hit, and since then the community has helped them exceed their goal. Now, they're hopeful that they'll be able to replace the stolen equipment by the end of April. 

"This is just one moment in our history," said Hurtado. "It doesn't define. I know we will be back celebrating and honoring our students, that's what I'm most excited for."