The Calendar for a Cause project has cashed out and presented cheques to the three beneficiaries of the project.
The Fort St. James Humane Society (FSJHS) , the Greening Up Fort St. James (GUF) Society and Justicemaker Veronica Marisol Quiroga Pando who works with women in Bolivia to help promote human rights in the Bolivian justice system, all received the proceeds of the project.
Each one received $3,484 from the calendar, which was a volunteer-driven project to create a calendar of local vintage vehicles and local models in pin-up style clothing. The models were all from Fort St. James, but Vanderhoof car owners and Wallace Studios also participated in the project.
Mel Chesnutt thought up the project, and in total, she recruited over 40 volunteers to bring the calendar to life.
The funds were presented by some of those involved to both the FSJHS and GUF at the Soup Wallah last week, and the other funds were wired to Bolivia.
"You guys are breathing new life into GUF," said Louise Evans-Salt as she received the cheque for the recycling organization, which she said has not yet fully recovered from the devastating fire which destroyed their recycling centre over a year ago.
She called the project another example of why Fort St. James is such a great place to live as so many people come together to give so generously of themselves, demonstrating a connectedness you may not see in large cities.
"It is so inspiring that a group of young people donated their time and talents and then chose to give to a group whose mission is sustainability," she said. "It can feel at times that no one cares about the environmental issues affecting our world."
"This is a reminder that many people are aware and want to do something so GUF wants to say a big thank you to all involved and to those who believe in the vision GUF has of a more sustainable community."
Jasmine Kendall accepted the cheque for the FSJHS and said the funds would likely go towards helping to complete the shelter out at the fair grounds, which still needs electrical work.
"We'd like to see the shelter up and running year-round," she said.