With flags and tributes in abundance Wednesday as the nation observed Veterans Day, it’s worth celebrating a particularly creative approach to honor and support veterans.
UCLA grad Gina Elise continues her work, which began in 2006, with a novel way to raise funds and improve visibility for vets.
As featured in an exclusive Fox News story, Elise wants the word out for Pin-Ups for Vets, a nonprofit that produces WWII-inspired “bombshell” calendars featuring female veterans.
“There were a lot of stories in the news about troops coming back from Iraq needing medical care at the time,” Elise told Fox News. “I felt very strongly that I wanted to do something to give back and I wanted to do something creative. I’ve always been a fan of World War II nose art (painting on the aircraft fuselage, usually at the front), since they used to paint these beautiful women on the side of aircraft to boost the morale of the troops and remind them what was waiting for them back home.”
The 15th annual calendar for 2021 features 12 female veterans in 1940s-style dresses and coifs who become calendar “poster girls.”
In the nonprofit’s mission statement, the organization says it “raises money to improve veterans’ healthcare, quality of life for ill veterans across the United States through personal bedside visits to deliver gifts, … supports homeless veterans with clothing and calendar gifts delivered to shelters … and boosts morale for deployed troops through delivery of care packages.”
That’s a mountain of care and consideration.
“I think the calendars are a symbol of hope,” Elise said in the Fox story, adding that the effort “also serves as a reminder that so many incredible Americans have stepped up to serve our country. And that in itself is beautiful.
Add comment