At a time of year when most of us just want to laze around on the couch and gorge on cookies, turkey and other holiday treats, the December Project motivates and inspires locals to put that aside for at least 30 minutes a day and get out there and get moving.
For the third year in a row, a few dozen dedicated participants signed up at the beginning of December, posting pictures and tales of their daily activities through the project’s Facebook page.
“If you lived in a bigger community it would be hard to see the end results because there’s a bit of anonymity in bigger places, but here you can walk down the street and people will tell you ‘right on’ and ‘keep it up’,” said December Project creator Joe Urie. “It makes you feel good and I think that encourages people to want to stick with it for the rest of the year even without the accolades on Facebook.”
While promoting healthy minds and bodies, the project also serves as a fundraiser for community initiatives. As of press time, Urie said he’s still collecting and counting funds, which will then be divvied up and donated to the Habitat for the Arts and the construction of a new skate park.
“In this town we’re so focused on sports and athleticism, but the arts are so important,” Urie said. “As far as the skate park, I expected to see more youth participating in the project if they’re the ones going to benefit from this.”
Last year the project raised nearly $4,000, with half going to the Community Caring Fund and the other half to the community’s efforts to relocate two Syrian families to Jasper.
This year’s funds were collected through a $20 registration fee and various events and initiatives hosted by local groups and businesses including a scotch and stretch night at the Jasper Physiotherapy and Health Centre, a fat bike poker rally and a college level volleyball game held at Jasper Junior/ Senior High School.
“Everybody involved did a great job, but I noticed a pattern with all these events. If you look at the entire month and what everybody did, the resounding overall power lies in the women of this community,” Urie said. “The events, the Facebook postings—it’s all women.
“Historically men take credit for everything, but it’s so apparent especially with this project how much women care and just how inspiring they truly are.”
Urie added that he’s hoping to see more community involvement next year.
“We need more planning. It’s going to require more than just going live on the first of December,” he said. “It might take the month in advance to properly get organized and reach out to different community members.”
While Urie described himself as the project’s “mouthpiece,” he said he would like to see the project’s organization grow beyond him.
“People keep thanking me and I seem to get the credit, but that’s not fair,” he said. “We’re all a part of this. I want people to be impressed with themselves and impressed with others, and when you combine all that together then you’re impressed with the whole community.”
Kayla Byrne
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