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Retirement Community Residents Have Fun Baring All For Charity Calendar

The website for Maryland's Riderwood Village retirement community describes it as "an exciting alternative" to your typical senior living joint. If  the latest project from Riderwood residents is any indication, that could be more than just PR hype. Inspired by the 2003 Helen Mirren movie Calendar Girls, a dozen women of Riderwood are baring (almost) all to raise money for fellow residents struggling financially.

Called "Going Bare for Benevolent Care," the fundraising project was conceived by resident Beth Gordon, who then recruited 11 others to join her in becoming calendar girls themselves. All of the women who posed are in their 70s and 80s. In the calendar photos, they are glammed up and stripped down, with strategic prop placement keeping the final product PG.

"Our calendar gives information about the Benevolent Care Fund's needs in a different, eye-catching way," said Gordon, who is also Miss November. "The models came to the shoots with some trepidation, but our team made them relax and laugh so their personalities were revealed."


The photos are set all around the Riderwood community. "We wanted the pictures to be edgy but tasteful, and show how varied and interesting life is here at Riderwood, instead of going with the usual monthly calendar theme," said resident  and Miss July Sylvia Valentino, who also designed the calendar's cover.

Another resident,  Robert Boger, shot the photos. "I thought it sounded interesting," he told the Washington Post. "Another line for my résumé: 'Bob works well with bare-naked ladies.' "

The calendars cost $15 each and go on sale Sept. 10; you can preorder them  here. Gordon seems pleased with how the final product turned out. "It shows that we are feisty, adventurous and have a sense of humor," she said. "We feel comfortable in our skin and in our community."

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Photo:  Image Source/Corbis

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