The Australian Firefighters Calendar, a company known for its calendars featuring shirtless male firefighters, yesterday teamed up with the Australia New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (ANZCham) to donate NT$80,000 of its calendar sales to a stray dog shelter in Taipei.
The calendar typically chooses one non-governmental organization to donate to. This year, it was Dog Home Taiwan, Australian Firefighters Calendar director David Rogers told a news conference at Taipei Expo Park.
Ezydog, an Australian manufacturer of dog accessories, also donated NT$80,000 worth of products to the shelter.
Photo: CNA
ANZCham executive director Glenn Lio (劉少浡) said that the size of the donation is usually based on sales of the Australian Firefighters Calendar.
The donation this year were raised from the sales of previous calendars, Lio said.
Rogers said the firefighters featured in the calendars are usually chosen from across Australia, from Melbourne to Perth and the Great Barrier Reef region.
The first criterion is that they need to identify with the “charity side” of the business and be willing to give back through donations or dedication of their personal time, he said.
“They have to look fit and strong, which is important, but to me the most important thing is they’ve got to be good people,” he said.
Each year, his team turns down 100 to 150 firefighters, due to the large number of applicants, Rogers said.
Alex Eldridge, one of the calendar’s models, said it was a rewarding process.
“I’m a dog lover myself, so it’s nice to be able to give back to charities that we resonate with,” Eldridge said.
ANZCham Taiwan on Tuesday next week is to hold its Melbourne Cup Charity Luncheon at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Taipei for the fourth consecutive year to continue its fundraising drive for the care of stray dogs in Taiwan and for other causes, Lio said.
Some of the Australian firefighters featured on this year’s calendar participated in the Taiwan Pride parade in Taipei on Saturday and gave away free calendars, he said.
The firefighters are this week to engage in exchanges with their counterparts in Taitung County and Kaohsiung, and are to attend the charity luncheon as well, he added.
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