Final funds raised exceed $32,000!

As the year of fundraising draws to a close, we're proud to report that the calendar team has raised over $32,000 for radiation equipment for the Stronach REgional Cancer Center.

On June 2nd, 2011, Southlake will be unveiling the new donor wall and a special recognition ceremony will be held to recognize our efforts.

While none of us went into this project to be recognized, we are touched and honoured to feel so appreciated.

Watch the ERA and SNAP for a full report of the event!

At this time, I want to thank everyone who supported our efforts, financially and emotionally through this journey.

Julie Achtermeier

Upper Canada Mall Nov 20/21st weekend

The sales continue and we need to reach our goal of at least $40,000 by Christmas!  Currently we are sitting around $25,000.

Please consider buying a calendar or daytimer for a stocking stuffer and support this worthy cause!!

Thank you!
Julie

Calendar Sales raise $23,000 so far for Southlake!

Hello Everyone,

I must admit, I am not the best at staying on top of the blog updates as life is very busy with 2 kids and a writing project I am working on (updates on that next time).

We have done well with the sales so far but still have a ways to go! 
Please consider buying some calendars for Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers to help us reach our goal!

If you know any companies willing to do a bulk order, please send me contact details so I can follow up!

Keep selling and buying, we're half way there!

Julie

Selling calendars at Southlake Wed, Oct 6th

Hello Everyone,
As we kick off October, I will be at Southlake selling calendars by Tim Hortons on the main level tomorrow from 10am-2pm.

The push is on now with 3 months left in the year and still needing to raise $40,000 to meet our goal and purchase the Ion Chamber Matrix.

Please support us and buy a calendar or daytimer for a gift, stocking stuffer or keepsake.

The calendars are also for sale in the new kiosk in the Atrium of the cancer centre.  Spread the word, tell your friends and please buy a calendar or daytimer!!

Thanks for your support!
Julie

Sales reach $20,000!!

Happy September everyone!

I hope you all had a great summer!  I enjoyed my time with the kids immensely but I have to admit, I am glad to get back into the school routine again.

After 3 months of sales of the Faces of Courage calendar and journal, we have reached over $20,000 for Southlake's Regional Cancer Centre! 

As we head into October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we hope to raise more awareness into our cause and sell, sell, SELL!!
We are 1/3 the way to our goal of buying the Ion Chamber Matrix for the radiation unit, which totals just under $60,000.

Stay tuned for a list of locations in October where you can find us!

Be well,
Julie

Calendars now on Sale at Southlake and Changes Boutique!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer and enjoying the hot weather!
It could rain every day and it would still be better than last summer that I spent in chemo! :-)

Calendar sales are steady and with the fall fast approaching we expect it to start speeding up again.  Stay tuned for fall events!

The calendars are now for sale at Southlake Regional Health center in the gift shop by Tim Hortons.  Changes Boutique on Main Street is also carrying stock.
Pick up your copy today!

Stay tuned for more updates as summer winds down.  I've been very busy with the kids so postings have been sparse but you an expect to start hearing more developments as we head into September.

Be well,
Julie

Thank you for all your support...

Canada Day at Fairy Lake was a great success... a big thank you to everyone who purchased a calendar or daytimer in support of our project and received a Free Family Portrait with Jen van der Vecht Photography.

If you have not yet received your portrait via email, please contact Jen directly to inquire. There were one or two email addresses which did not work properly... :(

Jen

www.jensphotos.com

Keep those orders coming!!

After a successful Canada Day booth ($680 raised!),  the festivals have slowed for the rest of the summer, not to mention we all need a bit of a holiday! :-)
Collectively, we are nearing the $15,000 mark for monies raised, which is an awesome start to the sales cycle!

I'm personally looking forward to a couple of weeks away with my family for our annual camping trip - especially because my husband can't get a cell phone reception up on Georgian Bay! ha!

Keep those orders coming over the summer - there will always been someone watching over the facesofcourageorders@gmail.com email address and we hope that sales won't slow too much.

Stay tuned for our fall plans where sales will ramp up and we'll be taking full advantage of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Have a great summer!

Julie

Canada Day Booth at Fairy Lake - July 1st!!

We're barely out of the first month of calendar sales and doing very well!
We have raised over $10,000 so far! 

The shows and festivals have been a bit disappointing so far but we're optomistic about the Canada Day event at Fairy Lake on July 1st.

We will be providing an awesome booth - photographer Jen van der Vecht will be offering a FREE portrait in our Canada day photo backdrop for anyone who purchases a calendar! 

So come on out and visit our booth on Canada and support a great cause!!

Julie

'An Afternoon in June' event in Aurora

Please come and visit our booth at the Timberlane Club in Aurora for 'An Afternoon in June' which is a fantastic fundraising event for the Stronach Regional cancer Centre at Southlake.

There will be a luncheon followed by a great vendor exhibit featuring clothes, jewellery, food, wine and many chances to win prizes such as a spa gift cert!

To attend the luncheon, tickets are $60 which includes lunch and an open wine bar.

To purchase tickets, please call Jennifer Buchanan at 647-200-6330

Hope to see you there!
Julie

Limited Edition, Fine Art Photographic Prints Available Soon:

Within the next few weeks, I will be offering limited edition, fine art quality photographic prints of all the Faces of Courage Portraits and out takes from the portrait sessions. You will be able to view and order from the Faces of Courage Collection via my website.

To view the collection, visit my website: (press): jensphotos.com and go to "client galleries" page. Password for the Faces of Courage Collection is : courage

All prints will be available as Fine Art Prints. Each print will be custom printed, mounted with a beautiful custom matte, signed and limited.

Look to website in the coming days for gallery.

Jen,
Faces of Courage Photographer
www.jensphotos.com

Colour version of cover image; Jen van der Vecht Photography:

To view all final Faces of Courage portraits, please visit Jen's BLOG at: (press link here): BLOG / Jen van der Vecht Photography Website

Running Room 5km Fun Run/Walk to support our project - Sunday, June 6th

The next event to support the Faces of Courage Breast Cancer survivor calendar is this coming Sunday,June 6th at the Aurora Running Room at the 404 and Wellington Street East.

The event is $20 to register, starts at 8am and all proceeds go towards the calendar project. Since we are still a little short on the printing costs and dont want to take away from any of hte calendar sales to pay for it, we are hoping to raise enough from the run. 
There will be great raffle prizes and awesome swag bags for the registrants.

It's a great cause and promises to be a great event! 

Please register at http://www.runningroom.ca/ under June 6th events: Faces of Courage
or you can register the morning of, before 8am.

Jen van der Vecht will be taking photographs of the runners as well so this is a great opportunity to see the creative genius behind the calendar!

See you there!
Julie

Launch Party a Huge Success!

The breakfast kickoff for the calendar sales was an enormous success yesterday! The breakfast was spectacular, and healthy, and the reception was fantastic.


ANews, the ERA and SNAP! were there to cover the event. See the link below for the ANews story which was great coverage of the launch.

http://www.anewsvideo.ca/

We sold 320 calendars in the 2 hour launch party and raised $6,400! A great start to the sales!

Thank you again Nature's Emporium so the amazing breakfast, great advertising and professional reception.

Jen's photos were spectacular on display on 20X30 poster boards and when they were unveiled, there wasn't a dry eye in the place!

Each photo tells a story all on its own and that message was well received by the crowd.  Everyone raved about how profound they were.

You should be proud Jen, the photos were amazing!

Stay tuned to see all of the photos posted on our blog soon!

Julie

CBC News Segment link

The CBC news piece aired last Friday and it was a great story!
Here is the link to the story.  Skip along towards the end (this is the whole 1/2 hour news program), it's one of the last stories.
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Local_News/Toronto/ID=1507099591

See you at the launch!  Two days to go until the big reveal!

Julie

Still waiting for CBC to air the news segment! ARGH!

Our segment kept getting bumped this week so we're patiently waiting for when it will air (ok, ok, so a plane crash WAS bigger news than this calendar story...)

I am learning that this is just the way of the news.  We seem to go in circles with reporters and stations showing interest but not always a commitment until the last minute, there they are to capture the story! ;-)

As I get the word of when this will finally air, I will let you all know!

Hang tight!
Julie

Come see us at the Winfall Ecology Festival and Artisan's Festivals in June!

If you'd like to meet some of the "calendar girls" in person or purchase a calendar or daytimer on the spot, please visit us at the following sales venues:

June 12/13th - Winfall Ecology Festival at Fairy Lake
June 19/20th - Artisan's Festival at Fairy Lake

I'll keep you posted on any other venues as we confirm them!

CBC Interview to air Monday, May 24th - Victoria Day

The interview with CBC went very well this morning and Debbie was specifically interested in the angle of so many young women being diagnosed.  In our calendar group alone, it's 5/12 women 40 or younger; 9/12 under 50 years. It's an important story that needs to be told.

The story will air on Monday, May 24th - Victoria Day.  I believe it's to be on the 6:00 news but that hasn't been confirmed yet.

I hope it catches on and we can get some great attention for the launch!

CBC News Interview Friday, May 14th - News at 6pm

CBC News has requested an interview with me and one of our models, Jenn Forbes to talk about our story and promote the calendar launch.  The interview will be with Debbie Lightle-Quan and the story will appear on the 6:00 news.

Jenn and I have been friends for about 10 years. She was one of four women in my wedding party in 2003.  Jenn was a bridesmaid, along with my best friend Wendy, and the Master of Ceremonies, Tracy.

In 2005, Jenn was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 35.  In 2006, Tracy (living in Ottawa) was diagnosed at age 40.  Then, in 2009, I was diagnosed at age 36.
We all live in different cities, grew up in different areas and have no family history of breast cancer. We were all fit and otherwise healthy.
 
This statistic has always amazed me, especially when the medical profession states 1 in 9 women will be diagnosed. 
In my world, it is 3 in 4.

Jenn and I will tell this story, as well as the incredible story of the creation of this calendar in our interview on Friday. 

We hope you can turn on the news at 6pm and catch this story.

Julie

Calendar Cover Released!

The Faces of Courage Calendar layout is now finalized and the cover is stunning!
All of the remaining month's photos will be kept TOP SECRET until the Official calendar launch party on June 2nd. 
Stay tuned for more details about the launch!
To pre-order your calendar or journal/daytimer, send your contact details and order to:
facesofcourageorders@gmail.com