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These headlines point us back to what really matters. Ordinary
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neighbors showing extraordinary care. I'm Johan
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Heinrichs, and this is Neighbourly Headlines. Real stories of
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kindness, community and faith in action across Canada.
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Let's take a look at what's been happening close to home.
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Most days, the news scrolls by faster than a Tim Hortons drive
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thru at 8am but every so often, a few stories
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remind us that goodness is still trending
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quietly, faithfully, one act at a time.
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Let's get into our first story.
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The interest rate on kindness just went up. In
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Newmarket, Ontario, financial advisor Julianne Goyet
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decided to make generosity her business plan.
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Throughout September, she and her daughter tucked envelopes of cash around
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town, each one containing a note and a challenge
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to share the wealth. They left them in places
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like the public library, the laundromat and a local
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diner. No fine print, no tax form,
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just a simple invitation. Find the envelope. Do
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something kind. One envelope at Wimpy's diner came
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with $20 and a note encouraging a customer to bless their
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server. The result? A bigger tip and a few
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tears of joy. Now, some people say money talks,
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but in new market it whispers, pass it on.
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Julianne says we just need to be kind to everybody and bring our
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community together. And I think that's incredible. Not just because
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she's being generous, but because she was empowering others to be
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generous too. She didn't just give money, she gave people
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permission and resources to pass kindness along.
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There's at least a three way blessing happening here. The
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giver gets joy, the receiver gets to pour compassion on someone
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else, and the next person down the line gets hope.
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That's the kind of interest rate you won't find on a savings plan.
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A few dollars, a scrap of paper and a good idea. And suddenly
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a whole community is reminded that generosity doesn't deplete,
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it multiplies. Now for our next story,
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waffling her way into everybody's heart. Over in
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Alberta, Bharti Caluisa just received the province's
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Small Community Enhancement Award. A fancy way of saying
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you've been loving your neighbors really well for a very long time.
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For 35 years, she has been a volunteer
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educator, multicultural leader and a friend to seniors in
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Drayton Valley. When asked how she earned the award, she
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just smiled and said, just an act of kindness.
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Now, Barney doesn't just talk about kindness, she's got a recipe
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for it. Her metaphor is waffles. She says
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if you just add the right amount of baking powder, the whole thing
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rises beautifully. Too much and it's a Mess
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too little and it falls flat. In other words,
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balance your batter and your compassion. But she
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doesn't stop at the metaphor. She lives it out. She
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started a visiting program called Chit Chat with Bharti, where she
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spends time with seniors who don't have many visitors. She
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organizes chair yoga, whatever that is, help with
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groceries and laundry. And get this, she ends each visit with a
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small shoulder or hand massage just to remind people
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that someone cares. She even teaches kids and teens
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to write Christmas cards for seniors who have no family. She's
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basically running a kindness factory. One conversation, one
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waffle, and one act of service at a time. And
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while she's famous for helping others rise, Bharti is the kind of person
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who insists she couldn't do any of it alone. She says,
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I needed my husband, I needed my friends, I
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needed my community. And that's the beauty of it. Her
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story isn't about a single big act. It's about thousands of
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small ones stacked up like, you guessed it, waffles.
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Sometimes the secret ingredient to community isn't power or policy,
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its presence, sprinkled consistency like baking
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powder. And maybe Bharti's right. A good act
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of kindness, like a good waffle, is best shared
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fresh with someone sitting right across the table.
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And now it's time for our Neighborhood Watch segment.
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Before we move on to our final headline, it's time for our Neighborhood Watch, the
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segment where we peek into the more creative side of community
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life. When fences make good neighbors and
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jackhammers don't. Today's story takes place in Campbell
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River, B.C. where one man happened to turn yard work into a
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full blown courtroom drama. For six years, a man
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named Reno and his neighbors traded insults. Dog poop.
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And finally, jackhammers.
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Yes, he actually jackhammered his neighbor's retaining wall while dressed in
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orange coveralls, laughing Merry Christmas between
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each swing. A judge has now ordered him to pay over
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$16,000 in damages and issued what might be
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Canada's most polite warning. Don't be that guy.
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This is one instance where tearing down the walls, as it says in the theme
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song of this podcast, isn't quite what we're talking about.
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You have to admire the dedication, though. It takes real commitment to hold a grudge
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and a power tool at the same time. And this gives a whole
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new meaning to needing to mend fences. We share
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these stories not just for a laugh, but for a lesson. If your
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relationship with your neighbor is so bad that you need hearing protection,
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maybe start a conversation instead of concrete removal. And
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we all had those quirky neighbors. And I'm sure in many
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cases we are that quirky neighbor. Lets move from
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quirky neighbors to better neighbors. So what
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would you do? Would you call it in? Would you try to talk
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it out? Would you let go and pray? Or would you grab your
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own jackhammer? And no, don't do that. In fact, this
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might be one of those polls where you want to choose that other category and
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tell me what you would do. You can do that and weigh in on our
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weekly poll at the Care Impact podcast group on Facebook.
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Because every neighborhood's got its quirks and sometimes you're the
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quirky one. And now on to the last headline of the
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day. Knit Happens. How Port
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Stanley Painted the Town Red. Meanwhile, in
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Port Stanley, Ontario, more than 100 volunteers spent
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nearly a year knitting and crocheting
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15,555 red
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poppies, each one a handmade tribute to Canada's
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veterans. Their goal was to paint the village red,
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and they did exactly that. And it's a good thing Port
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Stanley doesn't host the Running of the Bulls, because with that much red
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yarn, they'd be in a lot of big trouble. But from
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park benches to the iconic fish shaped welcome sign,
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the whole town is draped in remembrance.
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Organizer Kathy Holworth said the idea came after seeing
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a similar project in Stratford. She thought
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someone should do that here, and then realized that
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someone could be me. 6,000 volunteer
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hours later, Port Stanley's bridge and legion are covered in
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poppies, a vivid reminder that gratitude is best
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expressed with our hands, not just our words.
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And let's hope that they've had enough volunteers to help clean up afterwards.
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Now you're hearing this after Remembrance Day, but this community shows
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that honour can be beautiful, practical and stitched
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together one poppy, one story and one
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neighbor at a time. So from New Market's hidden
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envelopes to Drayton Valley's waffles and Port
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Stanley's sea of yarn, these stories remind us that compassion
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is still Canada's quiet superpower. And as for that
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Campbell river fiasco, let's just say that kindness
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is cheaper than court fees. These
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headlines remind us that good news is still all around us if
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we take the time to notice. Do you have a story of care
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happening in your neighborhood? Share it at NeighbourlyPodcast
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CA or join our Care Impact podcast group on Facebook.
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Neighbourly is an initiative of Care Impact, a Canadian charity
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equipping churches, agencies and communities with tech and training
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to care better together. Learn more@careimpact CA.
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I'm Johan Heinrichs and this has been neighborly headlines because
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every story of care deserves to be seen and shared
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Turning. Over tables Tearing
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down walls Building up the
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bridges between the stones
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of this turning over table
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Breaking off chains when I see you
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in a stranger.
