"Save Your Photos Day" Offers Free Scanning and Preservation Tips to Help Worldwide Communities Protect Pictures Before Disaster Strikes

ROCHESTER, NY--(Marketwired - September 18, 2014) - Every year there are more than 550 natural disasters throughout the world.¹ For victims of fire, flood, tornadoes and other catastrophes, photos are among the most valuable possessions lost. To help individuals, families and communities prepare, before disaster strikes, the Save Your Photos Alliance is hosting its first annual "Save Your Photos Day" on Saturday, September 27.

Save Your Photos Day is an international event created to educate the public about the importance of safeguarding and archiving photos, documents and other precious items. Currently there are 59 Save Your Photos Day events planned in 25 U.S. states with events also planned in Canada and New Zealand. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin photo consulting firm Pixologie is already scanning pictures to get a head start on the Save Your Photos Day initiative. By September 27, the group expects to scan more than 100,000 photos using two KODAK Picture Saver Scanning Systems from Kodak Alaris.

"Save Your Photos Day is a global event, with dates ranging from late September through early October," said Thad Beeler, Ministry Outreach Director for the National Disaster Photo Rescue (NDPR), a member of the Save Your Photos Alliance. One of the largest events will be held on September 27 in Joplin, Missouri. Devastated by an EF-5 tornado in 2011, the Joplin community is coming together to prevent the kind of loss of photos and documents that people experienced a few years ago from happening again.

On September 27, Beeler expects to help about 500 attendees scan more than 35,000 photos at the Joplin event alone. A team of volunteers will help participants use the KODAK Picture Saver Scanning System PS50, which was donated by Kodak Alaris and E-Z Photo Scan, including a computer, flatbed scanner, software and accessories. "It's not something the NDPR could have afforded otherwise," said Beeler. "To think of all the people we're going to help -- it's an incredible donation and we are very thankful for it."

Prior to receiving the equipment from Kodak Alaris and E-Z Photo Scan, an authorized reseller of Kodak Alaris' scanners, the NDPR was scanning in a very labor-intensive way. "We did not have the same caliber of equipment that we have today," said Beeler. "The Picture Saver Scanning System (www.kodakalaris.com/go/picturesavernews) allows us to scan up to 3,000 images per hour. There's no way we could have done that before. Not to mention scanning different size photos and multiple images at a time."

The Save Your Photos Day events are structured around four key activities:

Prepare: Educate the public about the importance and methods of safeguarding and archiving photos and other precious articles
Recover: Reach out to those affected by natural disasters and help them with their rescue and recovery projects
Restore: Provide resources and expertise in the restoration of damaged photos and memorabilia
Reunite: Assist groups and individuals in reuniting recovered articles with their owners following a natural disaster

"Save Your Photos Day is open to anyone with an interest in safeguarding photos and treasured memorabilia, anywhere in the world," said Cathi Nelson, President of the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO). "In addition to scanning photos and documents, participants can attend presentations and hands-on workshops to learn about preventing unexpected loss due to accidents, fire, wind and water." As one of the founding members of the Save Your Photos Alliance, Hartford, Connecticut-based APPO provides training and support for more than 600 organizations that provide photo organizing services to individuals, families and businesses that are overwhelmed with growing photo collections.

The Save Your Photos Alliance has more than 150 members, including family history societies such as FamilySearch, individual photo organizers, retail stores, and industry associations such as the Photo Marketing Association (PMA). All Save Your Photos Day events, including times and locations, are listed on the Save Your Photos Alliance website at www.saveyourphotos.org. The site also provides instructions on how to host events in local communities and allows those who are unable to attend to sign up for a free online Save Your Photos Day class. For more information, please follow Save Your Photos Day on Twitter at twitter.com/SaveYourPhoto (#SYPD).

About the Save Your Photos Alliance
The Save Your Photos Alliance is committed to being the world's premier organization for the safeguarding, recovering, restoring, and reuniting of photos and treasured memorabilia, before and after disasters occur. We will accomplish this through a unique blending of individual professional service providers, associations, government and not-for-profit organizations whose common pursuit is to educate, reach out and serve. Our mission is to show individuals how they can preserve life's vital photos, videos and documents, to prevent the unforeseen loss of these valued family treasures.

About Kodak Alaris' Document Imaging Division
Kodak Alaris' Document Imaging solutions enable customers to capture and consolidate data from digital and paper sources, understand and extract valuable insight from the contents, and deliver the right information to the right people at the right time. Our offerings include award-winning scanners, capture and information management software, an expanding range of professional services and industry-leading service and support. With customers ranging from small offices to global operations, Kodak Alaris delivers superior systems and solutions to automate business processes, enhance customer interactions and enable better business decisions.

The Kodak trademark and trade dress are used under license from Eastman Kodak Company.

For more information, please visit kodakalaris.com/go/dinews. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/kodakdi and visit our blog at infooverdrive.com.

For more information on the KODAK Picture Saver Scanning System, please visit www.kodakalaris.com/go/picturesavernews.

¹ World Disaster Report, Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), 2012