Coventry fundraisers behind the Ladies First Charity Calendar have secured a major retail partnership with Calendar Club, the UK’s largest calendar retailer. From October, the calendar will be sold at Calendar Club’s pop-up store in Coventry’s West Orchards shopping centre, as well as at their outlets in Solihull and Leamington.
The limited-edition calendar features 39 women aged 19 to 80 from the West Midlands networking group, including 19-year-old Stacey and Tracey Willian and retired Coventry MP Colleen Fletcher OBE. The calendar was photographed in Leamington earlier this year and will be officially unveiled at a red carpet launch event at Birmingham’s Rep Theatre on 15 October.
Copies will be priced at £20 and available throughout the pre-Christmas period. Following the launch, several signing events are planned where supporters can meet the women featured and purchase signed copies, including an appearance at Coventry’s Fargo Village Christmas Markets on 5 December.
The calendar supports more than 30 charities, including local groups such as Coventry, Warwickshire & Worcestershire Mind and national organisations like Teenage Cancer Trust and Prostate Cancer UK. The project also has the backing of Tricia Stewart, known as the original calendar girl from the 1999 Rylestone & District WI calendar, which raised millions for blood cancer research.
Tracey McAtamney, Ladies First Director and one of the calendar’s featured models, said the project began as a personal challenge to celebrate her 60th birthday but has grown into a wider movement uniting women and supporters across the region.
Helen Winterbourne, Deputy Managing Director of Calendar Club, emphasised the retailer’s commitment to supporting charitable causes and expressed pride in helping to raise awareness and funds through the calendar’s sale in their stores.
Photos by Visually Virtual Photography
