Sober fundraiser for Alpha House's DOAP team
Try Dry Sober January is an annual fundraiser hosted by the Boring Little Girls Club (BLGC). This year it hopes to raise $12,000 for the Downtown Outreach Addictions Partnership (DOAP) team.
"It's such an excellent opportunity for people to have a reset on their substance use habits at the same time as raise money for such a wonderful cause," said Kira Dunlop, the president and founder of BLGC.
The way it works is people who've signed up to Try Dry either raise funds from friends and family or they take what they would normally spend on alcohol and recreational drugs and donate it to the cause.
This is the second year Rebecca Robertson is taking part in Try Dry and she's asking her friends to buy her a drink, but instead of an actual alcoholic beverage it's the cash she's after.
"Whether it's a $5 donation, a $20 bottle of wine, just donate and contribute as much as they can, my goal this year is $1,000 last year was 800 so I'm hoping to reach that goal," said Robertson.
Robertson says she was successful in 2021 and the month-long challenge is a good way to reset her life balance.
"This year I've noticed it's a bit more challenging than it has been last year," said Robertson. "So that's showing me that maybe I was indulging in alcohol and substance a little more than I would have been previously, you know, with COVID and all of that so it kind of matches the trends."
VULNERABLE CALGARIANS
Dunlop says the DOAP team focuses on vulnerable Calgarians struggling with street level addiction or intoxication and gets them the help they need.
"Saying that you're going dry and raising money is so huge because it really gives you an ability to give back," said Dunlop. "That being of service is so critical when you know you're on this journey to finding that better you or to growth and healing that I personally have experienced through my sobriety."
To make it a little easier to abstain from alcohol this January the Tool Shed Brewing Company has come out with a non alcoholic beer based off of its popular People Skills brew called Zero People Skills.
"The challenge is trying to get a non-alcoholic beer that actually tastes like beer, because that's the hardest part right, there's a lot of non-alcohol there that's good, we're trying to get great," said Rob Duncan Tool Shed's director of sales.
Duncan says the social responsibility piece is finding an option for people who want to socialize but need to work or drive and don't want alcohol.
"It seems like the younger generation coming up, they want to have experiences, they want to have a beverage but maybe they don't want to drink (alcohol) as much so it seems to be the trend where people are looking to do things differently," said Duncan.
He says the brewery will be looking at making more versions of their popular beers into non alcoholic options for customers.
Learn more about Try Dry Sober January here: www.boringlittlegirlsclub.ca
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.