Top Ten Calendars for Good

Sure, you can buy a calendar that allows you to drool over the Twilight hunks 'til next December, or purchase a desk calendar that offers you 365 semi-witty Dilbert cartoons, but what about buying a 2010 calendar that gives back something in return?

For years organizations have created calendars to sell as fundraisers, and — news flash — some of them are really amazing! There are a number of visually appealing, fun and funny calendars for good available this coming year, each benefitting worthy causes. Tonic waded through the offerings to present you the best of the bunch. Consider:

1. The Unexpected Pit Bull Calendar

Think pit bulls are vicious dogs who are eying your babies for lunch? Think again! Most of these dogs are sweet animals who just want to love and be loyal — they just happen to suffer a bad rap. Professional photographer Laura Moss expertly captured these dogs doing what they do best: cuddling, playing and just having fun with kids, other dogs — even a snake! Full disclosure here: I volunteer-edited the 2010 calendar, and my awesome pittie Gracie was featured in a past edition, so it's my sentimental favorite. But simply check out their Web site to discover this amazing calendar — and these special dogs — for yourself. Best of all, 100 percent of the net calendar proceeds benefit pit bull-related charities.

Click here to purchase this calendar!

2. The Police Poetry Calendar

The reason this calendar rocks is self-evident: Police officers writing poetry is cool ... and surprising. Now in its second year, the 2010 Police Poetry Calendar features original poems from 10 police officers (beat cops, detectives and more) in Portland, Maine who were paired with local poets to hone their craft. According to Marty Pottenger of the Arts and Equity Initiative, an arm of the non-profit Terra Moto Inc., the pairs were required to meet a minimum of four times. The result of this unusual pairing is, well, poetry. The calendar features 43 poems in all — some from the professional poets in addition to the cops — as well as photos taken by five different police officers. The calendars benefit the family of Sgt. Rick Betters, who died suddenly last January.

Click here to purchase this calendar!

3. Keith Urban Calendar to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Know any country fans? If Keith Urban made you swoon before, then you're going to be even more gaga to discover that the man also known as Mrs. Nicole Kidman has a generous heart when it comes to helping sick kids. For the eighth year in a row the Australian country crooner has assembled a calendar to benefit the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. As he has done in the past, Urban asked fans to submit their favorite Urban photos for the calendar, and the best of the best made it onto this 12-month glossy (and watch his YouTube video thanking fans below).

Is Keith not really your guy? St. Jude created its own calendar featuring touching photos of its pint-sized patients.

Click here to order the Keith Urban calendar!

And Click here to order the St. Jude calendar!

4. American Red Cross Calendar

The Red Cross went retro to design a cool calendar that also aids an organization that is literally always there when disaster strikes. An unnamed Red Cross Youth Volunteer reached into their archives and dug out the most memorable and moving poster advertisements used throughout its 128-year history. Rather than simply slap an ad on top of the calendar for each month, it features a cool cork board design as a background. The ads in the calendar reflect the organization's five lines of service: Blood Services, Services to the Armed Forces, International Services, Volunteer Services and Preparedness and Health and Safety Services. Buy this calendar to look cool, learn a little history and help a worthy organization that's there when we need it most.

Click here to order this calendar!

5. The Naked Clown Calendar

We are warning you now: A lot of folks take their clothes off for calendar-related fundraising. But when it comes to the most hilarious flesh-baring calendar, we'd have to give the award to the Naked Clown Calendar. As the name suggests, this glossy features flexible and funny folks in clown makeup baring it all for the camera — well, make that baring most, as their funny parts are strategically covered in every shot. Although last year's calendar exclusively featured graduates of the Clown Conservatory at the San Francisco Circus Center, this year's models are professional and amateur clowns, although the press material says all models "hold an approach to life that makes them genuinely a clown." A portion of the calendar proceeds benefit the Judy Finelli fund, for multiple sclerosis research and advocacy, and named after an influential retired clown now suffering from MS.

Click here to purchase this calendar!

6. Calendar Girls: Reloaded

We told you that people love to pose naked for charity calendars, and it's arguable that nobody does it better than the ladies of the Rylstone Women's Institute, the inspiration for the hit Helen Mirren flick, Calendar Girls. As you probably know, these proper ladies decided to bare all for a rather revealing calendar back in 1999 to raise money for cancer research. A decade later, many of the same women decided to strip again, this time to raise money for leukemia research. Like the original, this newest calendar features the ladies doing prim and proper British things like pouring tea and gardening, just sans clothes. And this time they went a step further, creating a full-color calendar rather than the black and white version. Playboy bunnies they are not, but it's all for a good cause, right?

Click here to order this calendar!

7. Hollywood: The Good, The Bad and the Funny

Everyone knows that Hollywood is a dog-eat-dog world, and nobody knows that better than the very women who are vying for stardom. But a dozen ladies took a little break from the back-stabbing world to put a funny spin on celebrity culture — and raise a little money for charity, too. Jody Domingue Studios shot women offering a glimpse into the "often exciting, sometimes perilous journey of the Hollywood Actress." The result is not only a glossy calendar, but a film titled I Heart Hollywood, a documentary exploring the lives of working actresses in Hollywood. Calendar proceeds benefit Hollywood Heart, a non-profit organization that provides recreational and educational opportunities for at-risk youth.

Click here to order this calendar!

8. For Our Cause: 12 Deserving Charities, 12 Passionate Women

This calendar caught our attention because it aids not one charity, but 12. LA resident and British ex-pat Jacqui Smith wanted to do something to raise money for stroke research in the UK in honor of her father, who died in Oct. 2008. But rather than help just one cause, she decided others could benefit, too. Inspired by the Calendar Girls we told you about above, Jacqui assembled a group friends, including a glam team and photographer Catalina Martone, and took saucy shots for charity. Each participant could choose their own charity, and all money raised will be split evenly between the 12 charities.

Click here to order this calendar!

9. Hope Calendar

Kids can be ridiculously cute, and few calendars capture their adorableness better than the 2010 Hope Calendar, which features pint-sized angelic shots all snapped by Houston-area professional photographer Debi Gomez, a mom herself. Even better, Gomez is donating all calendar proceeds to It's My Heart, a non-profit providing support, awareness, education and advocacy for those affected by Acquired and Congenital Heart Defects.

Click here to order this calendar!

10. Rendered Hope Charity Car Design Calendar

OK, I gotta admit, I don't know much about car design. However, I have a hunch that any motorheads on your holiday gift list will love the 2010 Rendered Hope Charity Calendar, which features some rather amazing automobile artwork from well-known transportation artists. According to Cardesignfetish.com the calendar features artwork from "the hot Camaro, Corvette Stingray Concept, Scott Robertson's crazy ships, west coast Hot Rods and more!" I don't exactly know what that means, but it seems to make car buffs rather excited! Best of all, calendar proceeds benefit the Children's Hospital of Michigan annual Snowpile drive to buy toys including Hot Wheels for sick kids during the holidays. And that's something even I can surely understand — and appreciate.

Click here to order this calendar!

So there you have it, 10 amazing calendars that benefit deserving causes. These calendars are so cool it's kind of a shame there's only 12 months in a year.

Pit bull photos courtesy of The Unexpected Pit Bull Calendar

Clown photo courtesy of the Naked Clown Calendar