Description

The women of the SWILL® social wine tasting club, in conjunction with SWILLparty, LLC, have produced a wall calendar to benefit Living Beyond Breast Cancer, whose mission is to empower all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life. This is a brave and fantastic idea to keep breast cancer awareness at the forefront for the entire year via a great wall calendar. It's seminude but there aren't any naughty bits showing so it's very tastefully done. Here's a bit of background from their press releas:

"One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. That’s a frightening statement and one that led the Women of SWILL to create a fundraising calendar on behalf of Living Beyond Breast Cancer. It is a calendar stripped – literally and figuratively – of any pretensions, illusions and inhibitions, created to show ordinary women seizing an extraordinary opportunity to revel in their own glory.

After covering production costs, 100% of the proceeds will be donated to Living Beyond Breast Cancer. Purchase your 2008 15-month calendar at www.swillparty.com. At $19.99, the four-color, 11 x 17” spiral bound wall calendar makes a bold statement toward giving.

In the fall of 2006, while attending a SWILL® wine tasting party, Anne Conroy-Baiter, Eva Potter and Lori Tiller laughed about the idea of doing a seminude calendar featuring female members of their SWILL™ (Several Wine Imbibers Liking Libations) wine tasting club. But the idea turned from joke to reality during a group trip for annual mammograms this spring. That day stories came out about how each and every one of them have been affected by breast cancer, and they shared the hope that their daughters would live free from the disease. The calendar idea came up again, Lori volunteered her professional photography services, Anne her design talents, and Eva her marketing skills. Since Anne and Eva had been looking for a way to give back, they decided to fund this endeavor through their company, SWILLparty, LLC, with additional support from Kinley Corporation. The search for a charitable cause began.

It was the mission of Living Beyond Breast Cancer (www.lbbc.org), designated by Charity Navigator as a four-star nonprofit, that caught the women’s eyes: LBBC is dedicated to empowering all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life. Since the SWILL women believe that their quality of life has improved through their friendships and mutual support, the mission of LBBC and that of SWILL are naturally aligned. Happily, LBBC agreed.

“We are honored that the SWILL women designated LBBC to benefit from this calendar that illustrates the importance of being comfortable with yourself,” said Jean Sachs, MSS, MLSP, executive director of Living Beyond Breast Cancer. “It also shows how caregivers can find different ways to support the women in their lives who are affected by breast cancer.”

The Women of SWILL calendar was created in celebration of women as mothers, daughters, sisters and friends, and to honor the bodies that house their indelible spirits. Featuring 12 women draped in wraps, artistically photographed in the beautiful fields, forests and streams of a Western New York old growth forest, this calendar reveals a definite twinkle in their eyes as well as their confidence, passion, intelligence, mischievousness, spirit, warmth, and strength.

Testimonials from the SWILL women:

Kerry B (Miss January): “It's not every day you get an offer like this – I wish they'd asked when I was 18, though. I did this crazy thing for my mom, who died after fighting breast cancer twice in 20 years. I wanted to represent her during that first moment she learned she had cancer – she burst out of the doctor's office, striding forward, determined. In that traumatic moment, she was full of power and strength. As a 9-year-old child, it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen.”

Kim M (Miss April): “After recently reading several books that focused on the repression of women in Eastern countries, I came to the realization that I am so lucky to live in America where women can express themselves as they choose. This is my “shout out” to all those women who will never have this kind of experience and the friendship of great women like my friends! I also dedicate this to my daughters, enjoy life with no regrets…”

THIS CALENDAR WOULD MAKE A GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT WHILE HELPING THESE LADIES RAISE MONEY FOR BREAST CANCER EDUCATION AND SUPPORT. LET'S HELP THEM OUT! (via Anne and Eva)