This past weekend, Mary & I attended the coffee morning at the Wellington on The Lake Community Centre. It is a weekly Saturday morning thing, you bring your own cup and pay a loonie per person. Each coffee morning is usually sponsored by someone or group within the community. This past Saturday was sponsored by The Ladies on The Rocks, (Calendar Girls), for which I did the photo’s.
This was a special day, as they were making their final donation to the charity of their choice “ Alternatives for Women “ (Vi’s Place). You will recall that the ladies from Alternatives for Women were in to speak to our club recently and we made a donation to them ourselves. The Ladies on the Rocks had a vision, and went after it. They got their photos done, looked after getting them printed, did their own promotion and sold their calendars themselves. In April of this year, they did a launch to the dismay of many local residents. That was until some of those people saw and realized the efforts that the ladies had put into the calendar and what they didn’t show.
Christine Trulson, who headed up the group got the idea from the movie Calendar Girls. She found Alternatives for Women as their charity group and set an aggressive goal. Her goal was set at $20.000.00 to be raised through the sale of their calendars. A very impressive goal indeed and in turn had $15000 calendars printed. The ladies worked tirelessly, working every weekend at the Saturday market here in Wellington, going to various parades and or functions throughout the County and just about anywhere they could set up. They found that not only did they sell their calendars in Ontario, but visitors bought them to take home with them across Canada. Some calendars even went to Germany, Spain and various parts of the UK.
Many people just donated to their cause as well.
Saturday was the wrap up and second half or their donation with a big cheque presentation to Vi’s Place, bringing their total to $24.000. They are thrilled as this far exceeded their goal. A big congratulations should go out to Christine and her brave ladies for following through with what started out as a vision and finished with a huge impact. How fitting that the final donation from them was just two days before the opening of the new facility (Vi’s Place).
When I look at what these ladies have done, it also makes me think of our club and how dynamic we are. We too have visions and goals and many people that have committed to making the lives of people we touch, a little better. I think of the ladies working every Saturday selling their calendars and compare their work to ours with the bottle depot. It takes time, commitment, an awful lot of effort and dedication and a strong will to pull it all together. Thank you to all who give their time to help improve the lives of others.
Our actions speak loudly and we are what our Moto stands for, Service above Self.
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