BONNYVILLE – During last week’s council meeting, Town of Bonnyville Mayor Elisa Brosseau, challenged her fellow councillors to participate in the Bonnyville Health Foundation’s Dry February fundraising challenge.
The town’s council received a letter from the local health foundation asking local leaders and others in the community to come together to fundraise for the health foundation by abstaining from alcohol for the month of February.
“So, I challenge my fellow councillors to join me in this challenge,” said Brosseau. “It's a short month, I assure you.”
Councillors Byron Johnson and Phil Kushnir accepted her challenge and agreed to take part in Dry February.
This is the first year that the foundation has organized a dry month challenge, said Dawn Weber, the executive director for the Bonnyville Health Foundation.
“We are celebrating 25 years this year for our foundation. It's our anniversary year, so we have decided to introduce some new and exciting community events, and this is our first one,” explained Weber, adding that “The funds from Dry February will be used for whatever the area of greatest need is in the (Bonnyville) hospital at the time that we close off the event.”
The foundation’s independent initiative was chosen to be this year’s first fundraising activity because people generally focus on health-related goals in the new year, said Weber.
“Statistically, when people take one month off from drinking alcohol, it reduces their intake of alcohol for the next eight months. So, we really wanted to present it to the community as a way to fundraise money,” she added.
The challenge is also intended for those who don’t regularly indulge in alcohol as well.
“(The) message behind it can still inspire others to work towards their health goals. So, we really put the call out to absolutely anyone who wants to participate,” said Weber, noting in the end the goal is to raise funds and promote a balanced lifestyle.
“I know for sure there are some real wine lovers who are participating. So, they are taking a full month off of wine and it will be quite the challenge for them, but for other people, this is just to promote health.”
Weber added another element of the Dry February challenge is to normalize saying no to alcohol.
“In the month of February, for example, we're going to have Super Bowl Sunday. And Super Bowl parties are typically associated with lots of food and maybe some alcohol being served. But there shouldn't be that social pressure for people to have to drink in a social setting like that, and I think normalizing the ability to say ‘no’ is something that goes hand in hand with the dry month.”
In general, promoting a balanced lifestyle is something the foundation always strives to encourage. So far, Bonnyville and area residents seem to be jumping on board with more than 100 people already signed up to participate.
“Being that it's a brand-new event, we didn't really set our sights on a specific (monetary) goal to raise, but it seems as though we are already on track to raise more than we had even imagined,” she said.
Without being asked, two local businesses have already reached out to the foundation to offer prizes for the participant(s) who raise the most donations.
“So, it looks like we're going to have a little prize pool this year as well,” smiled Weber.
Getting involved
For those wanting to participate, they can register by emailing [email protected], or by texting 780-201-3079 to get a participant ID number.
“This is what's known as a peer-to-peer fundraising challenge, which means that you're collecting pledges from people you know, and people who support you,” she said. “I think it's a really important way to fundraise for our foundation and to try to get the community involved and to be united in a common goal right now.”
All donations can be made directly on the foundation’s website. After selecting the donation tab, the very first drop-down option is Dry February Pledge.
"If you are pledging one of your friends or family members or someone in the community that you want to support, then in the private message portion on the website you just have to put in their name or their participant ID number,” explained Weber.
“We tried to make this very easy for people, so they didn't have to tote around cash pledges or paperwork that has to be filled out. It makes it very easy for participants because all the donations can be done online,” she noted, adding that pledges by cash or cheque are always an option as well.
The Bonnyville Health Foundation’s mission is to transform “good healthcare to great healthcare for the Bonnyville Health Centre by creating and nurturing community partnerships to generate funds.”
