The Olympic Games are over but the Paralympic Games begin in under two weeks, and for the athletes, their families and many fans, the Paralympics are every bit as big a deal.

One of the athletes will be well known to Kimberley/Cranbrook, Josh Dueck. He was born in Kimberley and his parents Vickie and Peter now live in Cranbrook. Josh's folks are going to the Games to hopefully see him medal in alpine skiing. He's got a real good shot, being the current Downhill World Champion in the sit ski.

Most will know Josh's story — how just about six years ago he misjudged a jump while coaching freestyle skiing at Silver Star in Vernon and broke his back. Confined to a wheelchair, Josh was back on the mountain within six months, learning to use a sit ski. He pushed himself hard, making the national development team, then the national team, and now the Paralympic team.

Josh is headed for Vancouver and a whole bunch of his family is trying to go with him. The problem? A lot of them can't afford it.

"I would love my whole extended family to be there but a lot of them can't afford to go," he said in a phone interview last Thursday. "We've managed to get two hotel rooms and right now we are going to pack 16 to 20 of my immediate family members into those rooms."

Josh is trying to raise enough money to help every family member who wants to go to Whistler to get there to watch him race. To do so, his wife Lacey suggested selling t-shirts.

The Go Josh Go t-shirts are available for $25 at joshdueck2010.com. Just go to the page and click to purchase. It's simple. The more he sells, the more family members will be able to join him at the Games. The goal is to raise $6000 to pay for it all and the deadline is this Friday, March 5.

That's a lot of t-shirts, but I know Kimberley and Cranbrook have a lot of heart. Josh is about to live a dream he's been striving for since that accident six years ago. Let's help his family get there to see him achieve it.