Calendars to Keep Kids Safe
Nearly four years ago, a ten year old boy was killed after being struck by a motorist. The town decided a bike path off of the road was needed. However, in such a small town, the funds were lacking. Everyone was asked to pitch in.
My sister worked for a local copy shop a few miles out of town. She asked her employer for the donation of 100 calendars printed up with the intention of selling them for ten dollars apiece.
We held a contest for kids to take pictures of things locally, such as the school, the old cemetary, and the like. We literally had hundreds of photos to sort through.
After choosing the photos, my sister took them in and had the calendars printed. The childrens' names accompanied the photos along with the name of the copy shop on every month.
We put them in the local grocery store, bars, and diners. We also sold them at the little league games and high school football games. They were all sold within four days. The owner of the copy shop actually had people coming in and requesting them. So, he generously printed two hundred more.
We raised three thousand dollars toward the bike path. The owner of the copy shop said he business did better both because of the advertising and the community recognition of his donation. People stopped using the larger chain to do business locally.
It was unfortunate that it took a tragedy to get the Bike Path Project going, but the community pulled together in many ways including the calendar sales. The copy shop made up for the cost of the calendars in new business. Overall, it was a great success and would use calendars again for fundraising.