2019 Firefighters calendars for Child Cancer Foundation have a family-friendly twist

Napier Volunteer Senior Firefighter Jonathan Claybourn with the 2019 calendars. Photo / Paul Taylor

For the past 26 years the annual New Zealand Firefighters Calendar has been a valuable contributor to the Child Cancer Foundation — raising about $750,000 for the foundation the firefighting crews felt so strongly about.

Through the years the calendars have received plenty of attention, given they had in turns generally been of male and female firefighters only partly clad in their gear.

The popularity became such that sales had become huge and the Alexander Turnbull Library at Te Papa has annually requested one for their collection.

But as Napier Volunteer Senior Firefighter Jonathan Claybourn pointed out, the 2019 edition of the calendar has taken another course in terms of what it pictures, and it has been both an emotional and rewarding journey.

The calendar focuses on the very foundation it is fundraising for, and the pictures for each of the months of the year are of youngsters who have had to battle cancer.

"Each month features some of those very children who are going through, or have been through, the toughest of times at the very start of their lives — standing strong, having fun and being a firefighter for a day."

The children featured were hosted by firefighters at their stations across the country and Claybourn said the pictured results shone true to the foundation's vision that no child or their family walking the child-cancer journey should ever feel alone.

"It's a massive turnaround," Claybourn said of the move away from the glamorous images.

"And it is so family friendly because it is all about the emotion — this is something close to everyone's heart."

He said there were those within the firefighting ranks who had been confronted by the emergence of cancer in a child within their own, or extended, families.

Each of the children featured during their enjoyable day-long stint as one the fire crew was asked to write a few lines, and Claybourn said some really gave the heartstrings a tug.

Like the words of a little girl called Madison, who features on the December page with a firefighter called Jason.

She wrote, "I made a lot of special friends in hospital, but it was always sad when they died."

And a youngster called Rupert, who features with firefighter Laura on the November page, said: "My favourite bead is the purple heart because it means the end of treatment."

Claybourn said the $15 calendars made a unique and thoughtful gift as well as supporting "an amazing charity" and he had been happy to further volunteer his time to be the sales co-ordinator for the area.

He said he would be at the Napier Pak'nSave supermarket selling the calendars between 6pm and 8pm this Saturday and from 5pm to 7pm on Sunday, or he could be contacted through the Napier Volunteer Fire Brigade Facebook page or on 027 516 2225.