I did not have the confidence to be in the calendar, but I was eager to help behind the scenes and loved to help plan future calendar themes, plan photoshoots, and help execute the sales plan each year. And I figured simply being around all these strong, confident, and fun women might eventually rub off on me.

Well, I can say after 6 years of being a WOW member — and working on self-acceptance and radical self-love — that I finally got in front of the camera this year for the 10th annual WOW Naked Calendar! Yes, it was a little scary and I’m still the shy one unwilling to take off her underwear, BUT it’s a major step toward vulnerability. That’s what this project is all about — normalizing women’s bodies in every size and shape and celebrating their beauty!

The 2022 is printed and it’s amazing. WOW members are eager to share the product with people for the first time this Saturday at the Apple Harvest Festival in downtown Waynesville. This year is the first time we’ve expanded our product by also offering an annual WOW planner featuring photos (plus extras) from the calendar.

Shout out to our WOW Vice President Amanda Hanson for not only being one of this year’s calendar photographers, but for also designing the calendar and planner and working with the printing staff at Western Carolina University to get the layout and print work completed in time. It’s a big job and we’re so pleased with the results!

The best thing about this annual project is how many people help us make it happen — from the local businesses that sponsor the pages to cover the cost of printing, the photographers that donate their time, the WOW members who pose for shoots and help secure sponsorships and all the people who purchase the product.

The calendars are our biggest fundraiser of the year and helps WOW provide emergency funds for women and children in need in Haywood County. If we sell all our calendars and planners this year, we can make over $8,000 to support our community. This money allows us to pay for emergency hotel nights for women and children, car repairs or gas gift cards to get women to work, security deposits to get women out of abusive relationships, clothes, hygiene products and so much more.

We also utilize these funds to help other organizations meet their goals of helping women and children. In the past we have donated to Mountain Projects, Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Girls on the Run, Pigeon Community Center, Haywood Pathways Center, REACH, Make A Wish Foundation, and the list goes on.

If you’re at the Apple Harvest Festival this weekend, come by and see us at the WOW tent to purchase your calendar and/or planner! We’d love to meet you. If you can’t make it, you can place your order online and we’ll ship it to you! Follow on Facebook!