New Year’s Resolutions always seem like a great idea when you’re lazing around in a post-Boxing Day haze of leftovers and stray tinsel, but when life kicks back into gear and you’re overwhelmed by work, school, or whatever it is that keeps you busy all day long, those good intentions tend to fall by the wayside. We’re betting a Dare will produce more follow through, thanks to a little extra motivation. This January, join supporters of the Stephen Lewis Foundation and take on a Dare to help raise funds for AIDS in Africa. Your dare can be anything, big or small: a yoga challenge, quitting smoking, rampaging through a stack of books before February, or finally learning another language.

Register your dare at DareCampaign.ca, or team up with some pals and be Daring together. You can also join a team if you want some moral support. The idea is that these dares will parallel the acts of courage and strength exhibited by African communities struggling with AIDS. Funds raised from the campaign will support families in these communities.

What will you Dare to do differently in 2012? Whatever it is, it could help make a big difference.