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Hope repurposed
Uxbridge breathed a collective sigh of relief last week as word of Michael Larcombe's homecoming traversed the digital highways that had been lined with pictures, pleas and prayers. Since his abrupt early morning departure last Monday, until his return late Wednesday night, Michael was part of our consciousness. We cursed the rain, the snow, the cold, not for the usual winter is coming reasons but because of how it would affect Micheal, affect the search, affect the trail we hoped would lead to him. We rallied around hope.
The fear was Michael had been enclosed by an unrelenting darkness that had somehow forced his young hand. Hope, the antidote to despair, became the rallying call. On wrists, on hands, on posters, the word hope was a beacon, a shield against negative thoughts. The community, led by the Uxbridge Secondary School student body, banded behind the word. Social media pulsed, creating concentric circles of concerned family, friends and strangers. The center point was his family who, upon discovering Michael missing from home, sounded the alarm. Some may lament the pervasive connectivity of today's youth but when viewed through the lens of the events of last week one can only marvel at its effectiveness.
The students pulled together for their fellow student, their teacher and ultimately for themselves, creating a shield of hope for a student body that has suffered too many losses of late.
But what if we took those same networking skills and applied them, with the same fervour, on another project that could have lasting benefits to our community - to a community of Michael Larcombe's peers, a community composed primarily of teenage boys.
What if the internet-savvy and the Facebook fan alike took it upon themselves to support the Uxbridge Skate Park Committee's bid for a piece of the Aviva Community Fund competition pie. The competition allows community groups to submit proposals to help make a positive impact in their own communities.
Of the two Uxbridge-based proposals, the bid to build a permanent skate park in a permanent location is the only one to make it to the semi-final round. A windfall of $50,000 (to go along with the $75,000 dollars donated this week by the Rotary Club) earmarked for a future skate park is only a few short clicks away. Advancement to the next level is dependent on our votes. Each person who registers is allotted 15 votes they can cast over a 15 day period - one vote per day.
Visit the skateparknow.com site to register or follow this link
www.avivacommunityfund.org/users/registration/profile.
Last week, we saw how connected we are, both electronically and emotionally. We rallied around hope then, and while the skate park is not a case of life or death situation, we can do it again.
July 14, 2011
