BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
We are excited to let you know that we are going to open up a window for pre-orders for this Old Calendar version, April 10 - May 10!
A little backstory: this all started back in December of 2016, when Marian Adams literally had a dream about collaborating with Abigail Holt to create a calendar for Orthodox children-- something with activities to keep them involved, and in a format that was easily accessible to children of all ages. She approached Caroline Gann and asked her if she would be interested in jumping on board as our graphic designer, and we were off! We launched a Kickstarter to fund the printing costs, were fully funded in a week, and sold out of the amount we had originally planned on printing before we even sent it to be published. The Orthodox Children’s Calendar includes original illustrations of children interacting with their faith, saints’ days with original drawings of those saints, and it highlights fasting periods, American holidays, and church feasts. There is an additional page following each month with a craft, recipe, and memory verse that correlate with the month. Draw Near Designs is the company that we founded along with the calendar, and now it includes other educational materials for Orthodox children.
Our original calendar was based on “New Calendar” (Gregorian calendar) dates, and one of the most common requests we got was “Is there an Old Calendar (Julian calendar) version?” So this year, we are leaving the answer to that question in your hands! In case you don't know, the Julian ("old") calendar celebrates church feasts and saint's days 13 days apart from the Gregorian ("new") calendar.
Last year, we launched a crowdfunding opportunity on Kickstarter to gage interest in a “New Calendar” Orthodox Children’s Calendar. The idea was warmly received, the Kickstarter was fully funded within a week, and before we even went to print we sold out the original amount planned!!!! It was incredible! This year we are hosting a 30-day crowdfunding opportunity to measure support for an “Old Calendar” version for 2019. We decided to offer our own crowdfunding opportunity in lieu of a Kickstarter for the simple reason that we wanted to save our supporters money. So, we will open up a month long pre-order window at our website, running from April 10 (Bright Tuesday)- May 10. If we raise $3338 in pre-orders for the Old Calendar version and donations, then we will make it! And if we don’t, then the pre-orders and donations will be refunded, and we’ll have our answer.
We will update our blog (www.drawneardesigns.com/blog) and social media weekly (on Facebook at Draw Near Designs, and Instagram @draw.near.designs) with progress towards the pre-order goal. If you are passionate about this project and would like to give a monetary donation, look for the DONATE option at the bottom our website, and any amount you put in there will go directly towards the goal. You will also be able to donate an additional amount when you pre-order the calendar, or if you would prefer you can mail a check to Draw Near Designs at 3005 Boaires Ln, Louisville, KY 40223. There will be a banner on the website to give updates on our progress, and other special donation opportunities like adding a saint to the calendar!
Here’s a breakdown of the amount we need to raise: the total amount needed is $3338. 60% of that is the printing costs of 250, spiral bound, 52 page, full color calendars. 23% of is shipping costs (shipping the calendars to your homes). 10% is graphic design costs and 7% is taxes and fees.
So it’s pretty simple-- if there is enough support to fund a printing of an Old Calendar version of the Orthodox Children’s Calendar, we are happy to do the work and create it for you! Additionally, this pre-order window actually offers the calendars at a discounted rate ($20/calendar + $5 shipping), compared to the retail price of $21.95 + $5 shipping from last year. So all you folks who wanted an Old Calendar version-- help us make this happen! Pre-order copies as Christmas gifts for all the children in your life (they will ship to you in the fall, PLENTY of time for Christmas), tell your friends, and if it’s really important to you, consider a monetary donation. If you have any questions, please send us an e-mail at drawneardesigns3@gmail.com.
As always, THANK YOU for your support! We can’t wait to make this calendar available to even more families and children.
In Christ,
Caroline Gann, Abigail Holt, and Marian Adams
