Big Checks

Today was a big day in the life of Robert A. Swendiman and Ronald W. Milam Jr.  (NB: It's officially "Robert" now.  It's time to take a leap forward and be a bit more professional.  "Dr. Robby" just isn't going to cut it anymore.).  Today I reached another milestone, and thus checked off another one of my life goals.  Today Ronald Milam and I presented a BIG CHECK.  As part of Community Service Day, Ronnie and I were able to officially donate three thousand five hundred twelve dollars and zero cents earned (that's 440 calendars sold) from calendar sales to the SHAC foundation (http://www.med.unc.edu/shac/).  And so we handed off a BIG CHECK to Dr. Steiner and the Medical Foundation (pictured upper left).  It is a great sigh of relief to have this project behind me, because despite having a great deal of fun for a good cause, it took a lot more work than expected.  I originally thought we were going to be able to sell this thing online.  Instead, Ronnie and I ended up spending a significant amount of time selling calendars in the Pit, at sororities (thank you Tri-Sigma and Kappa Delta!), and around campus (now thank you, Ronnie!)

But I did learn a lot in the process.  Here are a few of the 2011 Men of Med School Calendar pearls, i.e. things you should know if you're ever going to make a calendar yourself:

• Being "Mr. June" and cavorting around campus totally erases any previous associations / appellations one might have.  Around the Admissions Office, I used to be "Coffee Boy."  That's because the first time I met with Dr. Bashford in the summer of 2008, I brought in coffee for the whole office (Starbucks baristas do have some perks).  Then I became "Rapper Boy," after the release of 5 Star Nerve.  Today, all past achievements and transgressions have been forgiven and forgotten.  I am "Calendar Boy," and forever will be until Ronnie and I choose to do something even more grandiose... so it looks like I'm stuck with "Calendar Boy" for a while.  This can be good or bad.  I still am unsure as to whether this will affect my Match prospects for Residency.
• Secondly, the most important part of making a calendar is how you pick the 12 people in it.  I cannot tell you how many people wanted to know how the 12 of us were officially chosen.  When I responded by saying I just emailed 11 of my friends and they said OK, I was met with dismay.  Did you think these were the hottest 11 classmates?  Why didn't you let girls pick them?  Do you only have hot friends?  Are you gay?  Most people could not understand why there wasn't a more systematic selection process.  So choose your men wisely.  Otherwise you'll certainly hear it from the peanut gallery.
• If you ever want to advertise anything, post it on Facebook 100+ times a day.  You need to literally shove your product down consumers' throats.  I'm not kidding.  I would get sarcastic messages from people ("hey man, are you selling calendars or something"), but every one of them bought a calendar!  If you dangle your product in front of people (in this case, 11 hot men + me), people will buy it.  My only regret on this front is that I didn't tweet the calendar to the whole world.  We could have doubled our profits.
• Use Google Spreadsheets.  It's the bomb.
• Sorority chicks love charity calendars.  Ronnie and I walked into Tri-Sigma with a stack of calendars and two med school men (Eric Golike and Eric Formeister - Mr. July and Mr. November, respectively) with their shirts off, and we sold 20 calendars right then and there.  A funny presentation and some stethoscopes will literally have hundreds of coeds throwing money at you.  Yes, throwing money at you.  I felt dirty after I left because I thought I was a stripper.  Money was thrown at me.  I left with a pocket full of ones with SHAC's name on it.  Oh well, anything for a good cause, right?
• $10 is easier to sell than $12.  Carry a ton of change if you're going to use an odd figure.
• Pick a great teammate.  I couldn't have done it all without Ronnie.  He is the one who originally convinced me to buy 500 calendars, and then convinced me not to buy another 100 when my eyes got big.
• Pick a great charity.  Believe it or not, last week was the first time I volunteered at SHAC.  I am literally the last person in my class to volunteer, but I only finished EMS in January.  It was a wonderful experience.  It's a free clinic for the underserved and underinsured, and I learned a ton in the process.  First-years through attendings all coordinate care, and a lot gets done.  I couldn't be happier that Ronnie and I were able to raise so much money for a good cause.

I'm glad we did it.  I learned a lot about fundraising, advertising, photography, and philanthropy.  Maybe in the future I can be a part of fundraising on a broader scale.  As long as Facebook and Twitter still exist, there are no limits.

In an email from the Medical Foundation, Ronnie and I were thanked for our contribution for SHAC.  They also noted that they couldn't wait for the 2012 calendar.  I suggested that the faculty should take the lead on next year's edition.