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Better Together campaign spreads throughout province

North Battleford city council got an update last week of the latest efforts of the Battlefords Better Together T-shirt project.
Mayor David Gillan wears a “Better Together” T-shirt he received from the organization’s Deb McNabb.
Mayor David Gillan wears a “Better Together” T-shirt he received from the organization’s Deb McNabb. Zoom screenshot by John Cairns

North Battleford city council got an update last week of the latest efforts of the Battlefords Better Together T-shirt project.

Pastor Deb McNabb, ambassador and a founder of the project, went before council where she presented a Better Together T-shirt to Mayor David Gillan.

She also encouraged North Battleford to offer a challenge to the Town of Battleford to match their support for the Better Together initiative.

The project began in January 2019 following the tragedies of 2018, when eight deaths by suicide occurred in the Battlefords over a span of seven weeks. Five of those were under the age of 22.

McNabb presided over many of those funerals. “Our community was exhausted. As a leader I was exhausted,” she told council.

McNabb connected with Alyssa Woodrow, who was later named a Jr. Citizen of the Year in the Battlefords, on creating the T-shirts that spread the message of “better together.” They included images of things that were “better together,” like bacon and eggs, salt and pepper, milk and cookies, and peanut butter and jelly. The organization promoted “Together Tuesdays” with a goal to look for someone with a matching T-shirt, where you can wave or high-five.

The idea, said McNabb, is to “look for your match on Tuesday.” The end goal is outcomes is understanding, improved feelings of wellbeing, decreased loneliness and enhanced social cohesion, among others.

The T-shirt initiative has spread to other communities, including at schools in Bruno, Leroy, Saskatoon, Humboldt, Weyburn and Edam, and even convinced the mayor and council in Humboldt to wear them at council meetings.

A total of 15,000 Better Together T-shirts have been distributed across the province, a fact that impressed Mayor Gillan.

“It’s really impressive after two years,” said Mayor Gillan.