The Wainwright Society Annual Calendar
Little did we know that a suggestion by a few Society members over seventeen years ago to produce a Society Calendar should prove so successful that it would become a major feature of our fundraising.
The calendar idea was to use members’ photographs and design the layout ourselves and sell to our members and, if possible, to a few outlets. The first calendar was produced in 2009 for the year 2010 and was designed by Dik Stoddart and included sketches and quotes from AW’s works researched by Derek Cockell. Jenny Whalley coordinated the team and Martin Roberts was in charge of all the sales and marketing. It really was a team effort which gained the support of members who supplied many photographic options.
500 copies were printed and sold out almost immediately, resulting in a quick reprint with final sales of nearly 1,000 copies. All profits were donated to ‘Fix the Fells’ and the picture shows a presentation with the whole calendar team to Richard Fox. It was taken at Stake Pass where the funds were used to make much needed repairs.
Since this first venture the calendar has become an annual event and is purchased by both regular and new customers alike. The process, apart from printing, is still carried our entirely by our volunteers and the annual profit is a major contributor to our main beneficiaries (details of these, and more pictures can be found in our Fundraising section). The calendar has now raised over £150,000 for our various beneficiaries.
The 2026 calendar raised over £9000 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service which depends entirely on voluntary donations to carry on it’s vital emergency and life saving work.
The calendar is usually available from July onwards and can be purchased on-line by visiting our website shop. It is also now available at many retail outlets in Cumbria and copies can be purchased at our Lecture which is normally held in October. The Society, and our beneficiaries, are extremely grateful to those volunteers past and present who give up so much of their time and energy, and contribute their photographs free of charge to produce this quality product which has become so popular.
Ian Nelson has taken on the responsibility of producing the Society’s Calendar from 2024.
