Curt, one of the dedicated deckhands on the Dewees Ferry, is a very talented photographer.  We have mentioned his talents before, in this post about his pelican photo, and in this one about a spectacular shot of a baby turtle in the sunrise.

Now, he has produced a beautiful calendar, Shore Leave, featuring birds of the lowcountry.  I asked Curt about how he came to publish a calendar, and he told me the story of his friend Myra Vassian, who went to high school with him.  Myra was inspired, as we are, by Curt’s photo-a-day facebook posts.  She wanted to produce a calendar, and asked Curt to pick a charity that he wanted to designate as the recipient.

Curt got connected with the Jake McGuire Savage foundation years ago when he and his wife Becky donated a piano, and he thought that it would be a good fit: Myra is currently a voice teacher at Julliard.  And with this calendar, he has woven together her interests, his passion for photography and wildlife, and his connection to the island community.  The website at the Jake McGuire Savage Foundation describes their mission as follows:

 “Jake’s Music” is a nonprofit charitable organization created by his family to honor his brief life.

“Jake’s Music” brings free after-school music lessons and instruments to inner city children ages 7-18 as an incentive for developing individual skills, for achieving self-esteem and for strengthening community ties in the neighborhoods it serves.

Our organization receives broad based community support and funds students in a variety of musical pursuits: composition, performance, music technology, recording, and exposure to musical events.

Dewees residents Jane and Carroll Savage created Jake’s music to honor their son Jake, who wanted to be a musician.  Jane was very grateful of Curt’s efforts:

We are so appreciative of all that Myra and Curt have done to put this together and to direct all the proceeds to the Jake McGuire Savage Foundation.  It is really wonderful that people can enjoy Curt’s amazing photos and know that all the proceeds are going to help bring music education to kids in the Charleston and North Charleston area who otherwise would not get that exposure. This is an exciting time for Jake’s Music with excellent programs going and new ones in the planning stage.  Having people like Myra and Curt step forward unsolicited to generate funding for these programs is incredibly generous of them and gratifying to us.