Jasper’s athletes—both seasoned and fresh off the couch—joined forces last month to raise more than $2,000 for charity.
The December Project was an initiative that asked participants to get active for 30 minutes every day during the month of December, and donate $10 to Advocates for Special Kids (ASK), an organization dedicated to giving a leg up to kids with special needs.
Joe Urie started the project to encourage people to get physical activity during the holidays, and Jasperites embraced it whole-heartedly, with 183 people joining the Facebook group.
The last bit of money trickled in Jan. 11 and according to Urie the project raised just over $2,000 for ASK. The organization will benefit tremendously from the money raised, and Urie said overall the project was a success.
“I said it from the start, I want this thing to build itself, I want the community to build it. It does need some steering, but other than that I think it’s a thing that can just grow on it’s own. And people did get motivated and did get out and get active,” he said.
It was that part of the project that Jasperites really embraced. Many posted daily updates of their progress on the Facebook page, usually eliciting congratulations and encouragement from fellow group members.
Some even went as far as organizing group events to get people participating together, all the while raising money for ASK. Freewheel Cycle organized a fat bike ride with a small registration fee and others pitched in $2 a piece to take part in a moonlight run.
“This town doesn’t really need a lot of drive. Generally people are pretty giddy-up-and-go, [but] I think that hip-hip-hooray that people got on their posts really got them going,” Urie said.
He added that now that people have been active for a whole month, he believes many will be motivated to keep doing so even after the project finishes.
“When I turned 46 I was just kind of feeling under the weather and I turned to running—which I thought sucked my whole life. But a few comments and tips of encouragement from some [friends] was enough to keep me motivated, and the next thing you know I’ve now run five marathons,” he said, drawing parallels to participants in the December Project.
On top of that, he said, ASK has benefitted significantly both from the money donated from participants, as well as increased exposure in town.
Urie pointed out that the organization was essentially broke before the project started, and its increased profile in town lead to donations from outside the December Project (Robinson’s recently gave a donation to the charity).
As a father of a child living with Williams Syndrome and a heart condition, the survival of ASK is an important thing for Urie. He explained that while it might not be at the front of many people’s minds, ASK is important to the parents that the organization supports.
“You don’t know when something like this will hit you. I never dreamed something like this would hit me, and suddenly you wake up to the reality of life—it just comes out of nowhere. Most people don’t think about it, but it is possible for anyone,” he said.
Urie said next year he hopes the December Project will be even more democratic, and suggested that the charity of choice should be voted on by all of the project’s members.
He said that he believes double or even triple the amount of money could be raised if that happens, and even talked about having special December Project shirts made for everyone who signs up.
Trevor Nichols
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