A light-hearted idea to create a calendar boys' campaign has raised £900 for Macmillan Cancer.
Friends Ian and Fred live at Housing 21’s Retirement Living scheme Dodds Court in Sunderland, they came up with the idea to create their own calendar, and other residents were willing to get involved too.
Fred took the pictures himself and used a local printing company to print 100 copies of the calendars. The pair raised funds by hosting a bonfire night for residents and approaching local businesses such as coffee shops, Bristol Street Motors and Costco for support.
Fred, 65 has lived at the scheme for almost a year, he said: “We know that cancer has affected so many people, and we wanted to do something that will bring a smile to people’s faces”.
“The response from everyone was amazing, we sold all the calendars within weeks of launching them!”
A total of 12 residents took part in the calendar photoshoot, and they sold the calendars to residents at other schemes, the local community and as far as Torquay during a recent visit.
Local Housing Manager Andrew Bowes said “The entire initiative was resident-led, the guys took it upon themselves to go ahead with their calendar, and it has been a huge success, with everyone at Dodds Court extremely proud of their efforts”
“We are so pleased with the response and the impressive amount that they have raised for a worthwhile cause.”
Dodds Court is a Retirement Living scheme in Sunderland, find out more about Retirement Living.