The community birthday calendar – a Haines School project for decades – needs a rescue.
For years, the calendar was compiled by the junior class at Haines High School, as a fund-raiser for the prom, but students no longer want to do the work and class advisor Lilly Boron said the calendar has become something of an anachronism in the electronic age.
“It’s kind of petered out because everything is electronic these days. People maintain their calendar online these days. It’s on Facebook. Everybody has everyone else’s personal life at their fingertips,” Boron said.
The calendar lists local birthdays and wedding anniversaries. It’s a staple at public radio station KHNS, where its listings are read daily. Last year’s calendar advertised itself as the 53rd edition.
The calendar raises about $3,800 for the school and requires about 100 hours of work, selling ads, checking facts and adding and removing names, Boron said. She said as much money can be raised through the school concession stand, and that project teaches some of the same skills.
Work on the calendar in recent years has fallen largely on school staff. Boron said she did almost half of the work two years ago. School librarian Leigh Horner, who stepped in at the last minute last year, said the publication should be a student effort if it’s to be done by the school.
Horner said the school booster club hasn’t expressed interest in the calendar, but some other group in the community may want to take it on. However, work on it should start soon to allow for completion and distribution before 2012.
KHNS program manager Leslie Ross said she hopes the calendar can survive but said she didn’t know if the station could take it on. “The station would like to see it continue. It’s something we use every day and it’s a fun thing to do,” Ross said.