This Writer Launched A Calendar For A Good Cause. Here's How.

Plus: Pitching power hour is back on Tuesday, Nov 5th.

The Clothesline is a weekly newsletter from Vanessa Chiasson offering cozy content for writers.

Workshop News!

My 2025 planning workshop for writers will take place on Friday, December 6th! You can read all about it and grab your tickets here.

---

Paid Subscribers: Pitching Power Hour is next week on Tuesday, Nov 5th at 9:00 AM.

On the first Tuesday of each month, paid subscribers can join the pitching power hour, a one hour virtual co-working session that focuses on getting those tough pitches DONE. If you’re a paid subscriber, you’ll see your Zoom link at the bottom of this email.

---

Food For Thought: Carol Patterson Tells Us About Her Calendar Project

Carol Patterson is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and an award-winning journalist. She’s been a pilot, an accountant, a university professor, and an avian tourism consultant, but says her best gig is writing stories about wildlife. Carol has written for Fodor’s Travel, The Toronto Star, National Geographic, Canadian Geographic, USAToday, Saltscapes, National Park Traveler, BBC Travel, Calgary Herald, World Nomads, and other publications. 

Carl has also been working on a really incredible project: an annual calendar featuring her own wildlife photos. Have you ever considered venturing out from writing and photography and using your talents to create a physical product? Have you ever wondered what it would take to use your skills to fundraise for a cause you believe in? Carol gave us the behind the scenes scoop about what she has learned over the years, what advice she would give to others, and more.

Tell me about the calendar project: When did you start, what was your inspiration, how did you take this from an idea to reality?

About three years ago after posting yet another bird photo on Facebook, a friend said if I ever made a calendar of my images they would buy it. And then someone else said the same thing. That made me wonder if my pictures were good enough to hang on a stranger’s wall. 

Why did you decide to do it as a fundraiser? Can you tell us a bit about that process?

At the time I was more confident working with words than images. But it was 2022, a few months after the Ukraine war started and I’d met several people who’d been impacted. The courage and struggles I saw in people who’d left everything behind to try a new life in Canada made me want to help. I thought if I could sell a few calendars and donate the profits to people I knew needing help, it would be worth trying. 

So I pulled together a dozen images, found an online printer with cheap shipping, and posted among my friends on Facebook. Calendars started selling one or two at a time. Then I started telling friends who weren’t online. One young fellow sold 20 to his schoolmates as Christmas and teacher’s gifts! Some people bought several for holiday giving. 

When Christmas arrived I’d raised $1,500. Not a huge amount but I was able to help several people with food and medicine when they had none and I felt less helpless when I listened to the news. 

I repeated the process in 2023 and I’m starting my latest fundraiser this month. 

What have you learned about the causes you support as a result of this project? 

I’ve learned I’m even luckier than I realised and how big a struggle it is for newcomers. I can change jobs whenever I want. Someone hoping to apply for permanent residency in Canada has to stay at jobs in the same occupational category or risk losing credit for the hours they’ve worked and need for their application. I’ve learned that foreign laws can reach into Canadian neighbourhoods when Ukrainian friends were unable to renew their passports abroad (and you can’t apply for permanent residency without a valid passport). 

I’ve realised some of my good fortune comes from working hard but much comes from the place and time I was born into.  

What do you wish others in your community would know?

The calendar project has given me more than I’ve given away. I’ve reconnected with old friends, had casual connections make surprisingly generous offers of time, services or funds, and I’ve learned how much of my life revolves around wants not needs (I’m trying to change that). I no longer think a war or catastrophic event won’t affect me directly. Taking action in a small way can make a difference in ways a person can’t foresee. 

If you could give some advice for other freelancers who are eager to embrace a new project, what would it be? Would that advice differ for people eager to start a charitable/fundraising project vs those who are doing something as a business venture?

I’d suggest that people leave time for the muse to strike. It’s easy to get busy as a freelancer but trying something that might not seem practical can be valuable. 

There’s obvious differences between fundraising and raising business funds but there’s similarities too. Doing a rough plan with the time, dollars and risk involved bats away fear (or at least keeps it away so you can sleep at night). 

If, like me, you’re reluctant to market your services, it can be easier to “sell” something that helps others instead but your reputation will benefit too. I’ve created a new network from genres, ages and cultures I might not have met otherwise and I’m a better writer and human because of it.

How can you get a calendar?

Canadians, this one's for you! For simplicity’s sake, Carol only takes Canadian orders. The cost is $25 per calendar plus $5 for postage. Send Carol an email at cpatterson222@yahoo.ca with all your pertinent information and to arrange payment.