Options for Sexual Health

Lorne Eckersley | Creston Advance

For most people in the Creston Valley, "creative" is the word they might use to describe artist Sandy Kunze. For a dozen local men, though, "persuasive" is probably the first word that comes to mind.

Earlier in the year, Kunze convinced 12 friends and acquaintances to pose for a calendar - she knew it would be a fundraiser but she didn't know which organization would be the beneficiary. The kicker? The men would be photographed wearing "aprons", which Kunze had sewn from women's undergarments and conventional lap aprons, purchased mostly from Gleaners.

"I invited a bunch of people for a party," Kunze said last week. "Once most of the guys had enjoyed a glass of wine I kind of began convincing them to pose wearing the aprons. After a while they really got into it."

The men were in various stages of undress as they struck poses and used props to show off Kunze's creatons. Mr. December looks like some sort of Buddhist Christmas tree, Mr. April carries a tray of cookies and wears an oven mitt and Mr. January strikes a come hither pose with champagne glass in hand. Local artist James McDowell appears as Mr. February, full dressed beneath his mostly plaid apron, bearing a broom and water jug, with a dog at his feet, looking quite impressed with the whole situation.

"Isn't it fun?" Alison Masters said on Tuesday. "Even if we only break even locally we've still got great public relations for the Options for Sexual Health (OPT) clinic."

Masters is a volunteer nurse and member of the board of directors for the non-profit clinic, which provides sexual health medical services for young women from the health unit in the Creston Valley Hospital basement.

"Sandy came up with the idea for the calendar and did all the photography before she knew who it would help raise funds for," Masters, also an accomplished artist, said. "Then a nurse, whose husband posed for the calendar, said "Why not the OPT clinic? And Sandy loved the idea."

OPT is a non-profit clinic that provides the services of paid doctors and nurses, who work along with volunteers. It runs from 5-7 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month and sees clients on a first come, first served basis. OPT has grown to be an important and well-used service since it opened three years ago and is a non-profit organization that can issue tax receipts for cash donations.

"It's a place where young women can come and feel comfortable," Masters said.

The clinic offers birth control supplies at a low cost, as well as other sexual health medical services. Women of any age can have Pap smears done at the clinic, too.

"Many women just feel more comfortable seeing a female doctor (both physicians who staff the clinic are women), so they come to OPT," she said. "The clinic has been enormously successful."

Funds raised from the calendar will help pay for community education programs, but Masters said the awareness it creates is equally important.

The theme for the calendar - Pull the Plug - comes from an art show that Kunze presented at Kingfisher Used Books on 11th Avenue North. Kunze displayed her sewn creations along with paintings that shared a domestic theme. She hopes to build an installation for local display that will combine the paintings, aprons and photographs into a single visual experience.

The calendars are available at Kingfisher and the Creston Valley Advance, among other locations. They are priced at $20 with net proceeds to the OPT clinic. Masters said other similar clinics in the province are being invited to sell the calendars, too, and the proceeds will stay in the community they are sold in.

For more information about OPT clinic services, call Alison Masters at the public health unit at 250-428-3877.