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CALENDAR GOES RETRO TO AID VETERANS -- Gina
Elise
has put together a 1930s and 1940s pin-up
calendar
as a fund-raiser for vets.
Story here...
http://www.dailybulletin.com/entertainment/ci_4926756
Story below:
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Calendar goes retro to aid veterans
By Diana Sholley, Staff Writer
Gina Elise isn't a soldier. She's never going to go marching off to war.
She's not halfway around the world, far from anything familiar, sleeping
on hard ground in fear of attack.
But Elise hasn't forgotten those who do. Or those who did. Because of
them, their service and sacrifice, she's made it her mission to bring
awareness to America's troops, past and present.
In honor of all military service personnel, she's put together a 1930s-
and 1940s-style pin-up calendar, as a fund-raiser.
"I've always been a fan of all things retro," said Elise, a 24-year-old
Los Angeles resident who was raised in the Inland Empire. "Over the last
few years I kept hearing so much about - and reading so much about -
soldiers coming back injured with their whole lives changed. The stories
touched me and I wanted to do something."
One of the statistics Elise quoted, from CNN reporter Lou Dobbs, was
that as of Veterans Day in November, more than 2,800 American service
men and women had been killed in the Iraq war. Also, 21,572 have been
wounded; of those 9,820 seriously wounded.
Though pioneering a calendar was a huge undertaking, Elise was
determined to trudge forward with her project. It eventually became a
little easier when American Legion Post 360 in Lake Arrowhead decided to
co-sponsor the calendar project, "Pin-Ups For Vets."
She also was awarded a community grant from Wal-Mart, Redlands.
Other volunteer contributors included photographer Marco Patino, graphic
artist Nicole Beale and make-up artist Emily Sanchez.
Elise, an extraordinary beauty, has appeared in films and commercials.
She majored in theater at UCLA and has a full-time job in marketing. She
posed for the photos on all the calendar pages, which coupled her with
military vehicles, classic cars and plenty of cheesecake.
"The whole entire purpose of the pin-ups was to boost the morale of the
soldiers going into war," she said. "They reminded them what they were
fighting for back home. And hopefully calendar pin-ups will boost the
morale now of the vets recovering from illness and injury."
Elise was inspired by painter Alberto Vargas, noted for his paintings of
pin-up girls. She did extensive research to accurately recreate, yet not
duplicate, those types of vintage pin-up poses.
"They were sexy, but sweet, with an air of being attainable, like the
girl next door," she said.
Calendars are $20 each, with proceeds going to the Jerry L. Pettis
Memorial VA Medical Center in Loma Linda. The 394-bed hospital serves
more than four counties.
Donations will help with, among other things, eyeglasses for veterans,
home health care, recreational therapy, spinal cord injury and amputee
programs, substance abuse program, women veterans program, chapel
improvements, homeless program and reading materials.
Calendars can be purchased for personal use, donated to a hospitalized
veteran or sent to a soldier currently deployed. The latter two options
can be for a veteran or service person the buyer knows or can be given
out through Elise.
The calendars became available in mid-December, but Elise's job is not
over.
"In a way, I feel it's the beginning," she said. "I'll be happy when I
see donations come in because I know what those donations will mean to
the hospital. We've all worked so hard, a team of people coming together
to make it happen. These guys, they have hearts of gold."
PIN-UP FOR VETS CALENDAR
Cost: $20
Order and general Information:
www.PinUpsForVets.com
or send a check for $20 payable to: Gina Elise, P.O. Box 14, Redlands CA
92373
Diana Sholley can be reached at
features@sbsun.com , with "Diana Sholley" in the subject field, or
at (909) 483-9381.
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Larry Scott
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