Saucy calendar made by Felpham sea swimming group raises more than £5,000 for hospice

The Felpham Sea Dippers handed over the cheque at a ‘packed’ presentation at the Felpham Sailing Club on Friday, capping off months of hard work and fund-raising.

The calendar, which features strategically positioned pictures of the girls in the near-nude, first launched back in November after one member lost her husband to cancer.

Organiser Janet Stockley-Pollard said she hoped the calendar might give the girls an outlet, something to focus on other than the tragic circumstances. And, since several members had a personal connection to St Wilfrid’s Hospice, it was a natural choice of charity.

Even so, she never imagined the calendar would take off the way it did.

The final figure, £5,262, was far beyond anything any of the members had imagined.

“We never dreamt it would do anywhere near this,” she explained. “We hoped that we might get near it, so we’re really chuffed that we have.

“Originally we were only going to print 500 (calendars) and then the hospice asked if they could have an extra 100 for their shops.

“So now we haven’t got that many left, which is really good.”

That emphatic support for the calendar extended to Friday’s presentation.

“We were overwhelmed by how many people turned up. The sailing club was rammed. All the seats were filled and people had to stand around the edges, it was really full,” Mrs Stockley-Pollard said.

But the adventure won’t stop there, plans are already in place for next year’s calendar.

“We’re already building up the momentum for the next one,” she said.

A spokesperson for St Wilfrid’s Hospice also acknowledged the hard work and passion behind the project, thanking the group for its donation.

“The calendar has been a real labour of love and the money it has raised could fund over 160 hours of community nursing care for patients in their own homes,” they said.