A Wild and SASY! Lunch. Women Naked For A Cause
What would move 14 women to fully disrobe before the cameras and "bare"  themselves on a calendar? We took the opportunity to ask five of the women, who say it is for all for a  good cause.

Five of the SASY! (Stop Animal Suffering Yes!) Calendar girls were gracious enough to accept our invitation to our Mother's Day lunch and talk about their cause.

SASY! is an all volunteer organization dedicated to the eradication of animal abuse and suffering in Costa Rica.

Through the support of purchases of their 2007 calendar - a calendar where the women posed "sin ropas" amidst  tropical back drops and animals -  the SASY! women hope to help fund educational programs to stop animal abuse, fund spaying and neutering clinics in low income barrios and sponsor shelters for abused and abandoned animals.

Originally from England, Canada, the United States and France, the 14 Calendar Girls who now call Costa Rica their home. "It is our way of giving something back to our host country", said Rosemary Rein, Miss August 2007.

Animal abuse has never been a priority for the government. And SASY! is looking to make a difference.

Cases of animal abuse are regular in Costa Rica and the police have little if any training in dealing with the problem. In the recent weeks and thanks to SASY!  the first charges of animal abuse was registered in Barrio Los Angeles, in San José.

On their website, SASY! co-founder, Lili Hale is quoted as saying "Safari is the Swahili word for journey and each page of this Calendar is a Safari for the Nature and Animal Lover's Soul."

The SASY! girls told us that the project was six months in the making and it wasn't an easy decision for many, as they had to consider not only their appearance in such a publication would do their professional careers, but also the reaction of their family and friends.

But, in the end, the cause won out, as 100% of the proceeds go to stop animal suffering.

The first calendar only features foreign women, as they had difficulty attracting Costa Rican women to be part of the project. Two Costa Rican women who finally said yes backed out at the last minute. However, with more time, hopefully the 2008 calendar will feature a number of Ticas.

Patty (Patricia Marie Olkowski), Miss January 2008, said that it a cultural thing, Costa Rican society may not be ready for this type of thing, and the women who backed out of the project probably did so because of cultural pressures.

The age of the women posing for the calendar ranges from forty-ish to sixty-ish and is a true work of art, a collector's item and this year's gift for anyone in the world who appreciate that Women are a Force of Nature and Animals a Gift of Life.

The calendars are $15.00 and though the calendar will be officially launched on Friday (August 18), 500 have already been pre-sold. Currently the calendar can only be purchase online, it will soon be available at leading book stores and possibly at the supermarket stands all over the country.

Oh yeah, for you single guys out there, seven of the SASY! Calendar girls are single and...