Meet the most important 'calendar girls' of 2019
It’s not every day that a calendar both awes and informs, but the 2019 calendar from the female residents of Touchmark Retirement Home in Appleton, Wis., seems to do just that. With tongue-in-cheek photos of 12 female residents exercising and having fun, the calendar spreads awareness about important — often forgotten — wellness tips.
“Stop and smell the flowers, take time to focus and breathe deeply,” reads the May entry, alongside an image of a track-suit-clad woman holding daisies. Betty Friedan’s “Aging is not lost youth, but a new stage of opportunity and strength” is part of the October entry, next to an image of a woman pretending to bench-press two pumpkins.
In an article for local Fox 11 News in Green Bay, the women — all current residents of the TouchMark Retirement Home — opened up about the motivation for becoming “calendar girls.” “I developed muscles, energy, and strength after training, and thought it was important to engage others in a more active lifestyle,” said Marge Willis, “Miss September,” the brains behind the calendar.
Calissa Palches, the “health and fitness coordinator” at Touchmark is proud of what the ladies have accomplished. “These ladies are great examples of active aging,” Palches told Fox 11 News. “All are engaged in the classes we offer at Touchmark and/or in personal training sessions that are designed for long-term health and fitness.”
Willis decided that proceeds from the calendars will go to Harbor House, a local organization dedicated to the awareness and prevention of domestic abuse. A representative for the organization, Jenny Krikava, tells Yahoo Lifestyle that they were delighted to learn of the calendar this week.
“Women helping women! We are so grateful to the Touchmark Women’s Fitness group for donating the proceeds from their calendar to support our programming for women experiencing domestic abuse,” Krikava tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Their attitude and example are an inspiration. They model the importance of self-care and offer encouragement to keep moving forward, never looking back. As Dorothy (aka Miss November) told me, ‘You can’t live life always looking in the rear view mirror.’”
UPDATE 12/5/18: An earlier version of this article stated that Calissa Palches was the brains behind the calendar idea. In reality, it was Marge Willis (Miss September). Yahoo Lifestyle regrets the error.
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