The saying goes “a picture’s worth a thousand words,” but for 8-year-old Voorhees resident Zoe Levy, she’s hoping a whole calendar filled with pictures might be worth at least a few thousand dollars in donations toward a good cause.
To raise money for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and hemophilia research, Zoe and about 25 of her friends are selling scholastic calendars filled with photographs they took under the theme of “Things We Love.”
From pretty objects to tasty treats to fun and games, each month features a set of photographs taken by Zoe and her friends, along with some shots from Zoe’s 5-year-old brother Max.
Max plays an integral role in Zoe’s project, as he was diagnosed with Hemophilia A as a baby, and all money donated to the Hematology and Oncology Department at CHOP will be done so in his name.
Max has been a patient at CHOP for most of his young life. He had to wear a helmet every day for three years, and just last year he had a metallic medical device known as a port implanted in his chest, much like Marvel Comic’s Tony Stark, earning him the nickname “Iron Max.”
So one day when Zoe was reading a magazine article about a girl who raised thousands of dollars for cancer research, Zoe decided that she could do the same for hemophilia.
“I was reading ‘Highlights’ and there was a girl in there who made magnets to raise money for cancer research, and I wanted to just do something more for hemophilia and for my brother,” Zoe said.
According to Zoe’s father, Dan Levy, the scale of selling a calendar made sense because the amount of money raised could really make a difference.
Levy said the project being a scholastic calendar from September through August was also a good way to add a little urgency for Zoe and her friends to start taking photos and start raising money.
And according to Zoe, of all those friends she asked to be a part of the project, not a single one turned her down.
“I wanted them to do something with me and I thought it would be more fun to have my friends help me,” Zoe said. “All the kids right here (pictured near the front of the calendar) took all of the pictures.”
Although they haven’t collected the funds from their friends yet, Zoe and Max alone have already raised more than $1,000, with at least $400 stemming from door-to-door sales and getting family members to sell on their behalf.
Max is also eager to show off the photos he took.
“One the front cover I made that school bus picture, and on the back cover I made the one with all my stuffed animals,” Max said.
With some upcoming partnerships with local businesses, Levy said there’s a good chance they could sell out of the entire first run of 500 calendars and raise at least $6,000.
“The fact that Zoe and Max worked as hard on this as they have, and spent as much time…as they have on a project like this, I wish there was a better word for proud,” Levy said. “I can’t believe that they did this.”
Those interested in purchasing a calendar can do so for a donation of at least $20 or more by visiting hearts4hemophilia.org.
Hearts4Hemophilia is the name of the hemophilia research charity Zoe started, but for now the website will redirect to the calendar donation drive page on CHOP’s website.
Levy said the money goes directly to CHOP and is tax deductible, and Zoe will write a small thank you note with each calendar sent.
As for Zoe, she said she wanted to thank her friends, and she hopes more people buy a calendar and help her raise some money for a good cause.
“I think this is a good project, and I hope it’s successful, and I hope it raises a lot of money for CHOP and hemophilia,” Zoe said.
