Stripping off for a good cause
Maidenhead: Rugby club members bare all for charity calendar raising funds for Alzheimer’s Society
A group of Maidenhead women in their fifties and sixties have decided to bare all as part of a 2022 calendar in aid of an Alzheimer’s charity.
Tamzin Laxton-Blinkhorn, Julie Evans, Lynne Turner, Julie McGuckin, Lou Greenhead, Jo Goodman, Katrina Davies and Jackie Swift are set to feature in next year’s ‘Dare to Bare’ calendar.
The women hope to raise about £2,000 for the charity Alzheimer’s Society, with the idea inspired by one of the group’s friends, who is living with the condition.
Julie said: “We were at a barbecue and discussing how hard it is for our friend who has Alzheimer’s.
“We all agreed that we should raise money in her honour, and after a few bottles of Prosecco, somebody suggested doing our own ‘Calendar Girls’ project.
“Everyone was sceptical to start with, but when we discussed it some more, we realised that it would be perfect as it’s out of our comfort
zones and a little bit different.”
The ladies – who are all members of Maidenhead Rugby Club along with their husbands, who used to play for the team – designed themes for each month.
They sourced props and arranged for most of the photos to be taken in their homes and gardens.
But the remainder of the photoshoots were a little more challenging – taking place at more exposed locations including a farmer’s field, and Bournemouth beach.
“It was a bit daunting, but in the end we had great fun doing it and we were always very discreet,” said Julie.
“While there was a lot of laughter and the joy of making happy memories with friends, there was also the knowledge that memories are one of the things that often so cruelly get stolen from people with dementia, which made it very poignant.”
Tim Waters, Alzheimer’s Society community fundraiser, said: “This is such a fun project with a very important message at its heart.
“The last 20 months has been tough for everyone, but for many of the 2,200 people living with dementia in Windsor and Maidenhead, the impact of coronavirus has been catastrophic.
“We are in awe of amazing supporters like Julie and her friends whose fundraising efforts help fund our services.”
Most of the hard copies of the calendar have already been snapped up, but the public is urged to donate to the group’s Just Giving page. Anyone who donates in this way will receive a link to a digital version of the calendar.
For more information, visit www.justgiving.com /fundraising/julie-evans68 and alzheimers.org.uk