Farewell Until March 28, 2011

It seems strange to say that we are waving behind to 2011 when the year has just started, but that is exactly what we are doing. This year has been about learning, bravery, telling stories, and above all, loving our bodies. We wrote, stood in front of cameras, and proudly declared our love for how we look- no matter our age and size. But we couldn’t have done it without you. The readers who came and commented, cheered, and reaffirmed our mission made every step of this project a labor of love. Above all, we raised over $500 for NEDA. We hope that the money we contribute will help those in need of treatment of eating disorders, but most of all, we hope that we have raised awareness and challenged you to love your body like you should.

What started out as crazy idea in my brain, grew into movement with dedicated team who made this project possible. Let’s give them a chance to say how crazy I drove them, shall we?

Alex, our content manager:
In the broadest sense, this project taught me so much about the power of blogging, social media and how saying something is due at 7 p.m. on a Sunday means I will probably get it by 10 p.m…. the following night. On a more personal level, this project forced me to explore my own eating disorder and recovery, my ideas on body shape and size, and strengthened my resolve to love my body the way it is not the way I’d like it to be.  Most importantly, the Blogger Body Calendar project has put people in my life, some who worked on the project and some supported the project with comments and tweets, that have kept me writing and caring and participating in life and the Internet when I might have walked away. I am so grateful.

Alison, our art director:
What I loved about this project was how different each and every photograph turned out to be. The uniqueness of each personality, not to mention each shape was exactly what I thought that the calendar should convey. I got to get good and close with all of them, as I put the pages together and did a lot of zooming in – I was so worried that my own would be awful in amongst them, but when it was all done I was thrilled with it all. I hope that people take away the most important sentiment of all – that you are gorgeous, and that everyone is different – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Alli, our social media manager:
It’s true, I came into the project a little late. But once I found out about it, through Alex’s blog, I knew that I had to get involved. So I volunteered to guest post, which grew into volunteering in anyway possible, which grew into stalking Alex until she finally gave up and begged Amy to let me in. I took over as the Social Media Manager and it was pure awesome. Being part of a group that sets out to help women with eating disorders, and really helps all of us, is something I’m so proud of. It’s an issue that is close to my heart. Honestly the women I’ve been working with have become close to my heart as well. And so, on that sappy note, here’s to the coming year where I hope to be even more involved and make more of an impact. I can’t wait.

And so we say goodbye to 2011. There aren’t enough ‘thank yous’ to express our gratitude for all your support. But this isn’t the end. We’ll be back in two months with 12 new bloggers and new cause to support. 2012 is gearing up to be big! Stick around and see what we have for you.

Editor’s note: Amy did an amazing job fearlessly creating, organizing and promoting this project and should get a special thank you. THANK YOU, AMY!

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