TORONTO — All the bad news can get to be a bit too much. If I’m feeling it I know others are feeling it as well.
So, I felt it’s time to share some of the good news that can come out of a bad news scenario given the global pandemic has impacted so many Canadians.
RBC, Canada’s largest bank has started to highlight weekly Canadians who have been doing selfless acts of kindness to help family, friends, even strangers while giving back to their communities. The project is being called Random Acts of Canadian and is being rolled out on a national basis.
I love this.
A program like this profiles how resilient we are as Canadians as we all struggle to cope with the ongoing stress of living through a global pandemic. People of all ages and from all walks of life are sharing their stories and doing great things.
My daughter Jane knows I love to be active and keep on the move so she shared with me the story of Guy Aiello who is about to turn 100. He wants to give back to his local hospital, PRHC Foundation, and hopes to raise $42,200 by beginning his journey on July 1 to conquer a 42.2K marathon, taking it one step at a time.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) shares that almost half of Canadians know a business that has had to close and 8 out of 10 people say they wish they could do more. The fact is, only half of small businesses are fully open and those that are open only one in three are back to pre-pandemic staffing levels and one in five is back to normal sales.
But we can do more and here is how: the CFIB has launched SmallBusinessEveryDay.ca and hopes Canadians will walk to a local business maybe buy a treat for a neighbour or purchases goods and services for themselves. In other words look for ways to support independent business everyday. Let’s work to make #SmallBusinessEveryDay become a trend.
Even the Canadian government is getting in on the bandwagon to give back with the launching of the Canada Student Service Grant, which will allow post-secondary and recent grads to gain valuable experience while contributing to their communities. If a student decides to volunteer this summer they could receive a grant of between $1,000 and $5,000 depending on how many hours worked they have completed. Check out the Government of Canada website’s “I Want To Help” portal.
The point here is that giving back shows no boundaries. It isn’t age-restricted, gender-specific and crosses social barriers. Let’s share some of the good that has come out such a bad situation.
