MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Morgantown Library Public System, along with Homeward Bound WV and the Marion Co. Humane Society, are coming together for the ‘Wild and Weird’ 2021 Calendar Fundraiser.
The calendar features library staff holding 12 cats, ranging from kittens to adults, from the animal shelters. Corina Chang, marketing manager for the library system, said she wanted to find a novel way to engage with the community and thought about the spinning-off of fireman calendars. She added that animal shelters weren’t her first consideration when she was thinking about community partners, but both ended up being terrific partners.
I get to promote the library and how amazing we are and all the amazing services and projects that we have. And at the same time, I got to bring more awareness, more visibility to people that are working hard to find homes for abandoned or orphaned cats. Even though I was looking for community members that had aligned values, even though our missions are vastly different, this project for me is about sustaining into the future what’s important to our community. If you enjoy books, care about literacy, or if you care about your furry friends, this calendar is about supporting those things, so I feel like we are reaching a larger audience by partnering together and it’s all for a great cause.
Corina Chang – Manager of Marketing, Morgantown Public Library System
Chang said all the cats featured in the calendar are up for adoption. She added that the goal is for all of them to be adopted by Jan. 2021, when sales of the limited time calendars will stop.
Besides the goals of finding the cats home and bringing awareness to the library system, the calendars are, as mentioned earlier, part of a fundraising effort. Each is $20 and can be purchased online through the library’s website. According to a press release, all proceeds will support both the library‘s and animal rescue’s missions to enrich the human experience through education, advocacy, and service.
Chang said the COVID-19 pandemic had made 2020 a difficult year for everyone, so she hopes the calendars bring joy to everyone who buys one if nothing else.
“My hope is that by purchasing this calendar, we can bring some laughter into people’s homes and also give them the good feeling that they are supporting something important for our community, so that’s kind of the takeaway message, I would say,” Chang said.
