Scouts Ask Canadians To Discover The Power Of A Simple Act of Kindness

TORONTO – In today’s fast paced society, it can be easy to overlook someone who could benefit from a simple act of kindness. A good turn can take as little as seconds to do, but it can help shape and change the world in a small but significant way. To remind all Canadians of the power of a good turn, Scouts Canada is once again calling on Canadians of all ages to brighten someone’s day through a gesture of kindness during the 8th annual Good Turn Week taking place April 29 – May 7, 2017. To help bring the initiative to local communities, Scouts Canada is launching more than 30 major Good Turn Week projects from coast to coast, made possible with the generous support of RBC Foundation.

“Each and every one of us has the capacity to spark meaningful and positive change in our communities and it is as simple as performing good turns,” said Caitlyn Piton, National Youth Commissioner and Chair of the National Youth Network for Scouts Canada. “Good turns have the ability to foster a sense of inclusivity, promote friendship, inspire compassion and unite a community. Through RBC Foundation’s generous support, Scouts will be able to deliver a greater impact in communities all across Canada during Good Turn Week.”

Participating in Good Turn Week is easy: perform a good turn for someone else and encourage the recipient to pay it forward, creating a cycle of goodwill. A good turn can be as simple as giving up a seat on public transit or buying a meal for a homeless person, or as ambitious as organizing a fundraiser to support a family that is down on their luck. Canadians can share their Good Turns at Scouts.ca/goodturnweek, or on social media by using #GoodTurnWeek and tagging @ScoutsCanada.

Major community Good Turn Week projects include:

Burnaby, BC: The 4th Northview Scouts Group is collecting blankets and gently-used clothing and distributing them to individuals in need throughout Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Chilliwack, BC: The 6th Chilliwack Scout Group is creating a community donation box at Chilliwack United Church. The Scouts will fill the box with essential care items and are encouraging individuals to drop off donations to assist the city’s homeless population. They are also holding a community fundraiser on April 29 at the church.

Maple Ridge, BC: The 1st Haney Scout Group is building on their 2016 project with a renewed partnership with the Ridge Meadows Hospital. The hospital is contributing funds to the group’s 2017 project to expand the hospital’s gardens and create a tranquil space for patients and their families.

Mission, BC: The 1st West Heights Scout Group is creating 100 care packages for the area’s homeless and at-risk youth seeking treatment and assistance at Mission Youth House. The Scouts will fill backpacks with toiletries, snacks and entertainment items, along with handwritten letters offering encouraging words.

Vancouver, BC: The 9th St. Thomas Scout Group is expanding on the umbrella share project they launched in 2016. They will hand out 300 additional umbrellas, which are not meant to be kept after use, but passed along to others in need.

Vancouver, BC: The 23rd Elsie Roy Scout Group is helping to improve the welfare of animals in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside by supporting the SPCA’s pet food bank. The Scouts are hand-crafting pet toys and collecting food donations for a variety of household pets to be given to low income families and individuals.

Calgary, AB: The 58th Thorncliffe Scout Group is donating blankets, toiletries, new clothing and work attire to meet the basic survival needs of patrons using The Mustard Seed, a local homeless shelter. The Scouts will also be assisting the organization in categorizing and sorting donations from the public.

Calgary, AB: The 224th Sandstone Valley Scout Group is transforming the public leisure skating area in Sandstone Park into a multi-use space within the park, to increase community use year round. The Scouts are creating a garden and refurbishing picnic tables and benches.

Calgary, AB: The Southern Trails East Cub Scouts are planting trees in Fish Creek Park to help mitigate the damage caused by the 2013 floods and bolster the ecosystem by reintroducing native species to replace damaged and dying trees. The Cubs will plant 100 trees to commemorate 100 years of Cub Scouts.

Calgary, AB: Calgary Scouts are hosting a cycling safety and free bike tune-up day on May 7 in Shouldice Park. Volunteer mechanics will perform bike inspections and general maintenance, while Scouts educate the community about cycling safety in hopes of reducing car and cyclist accidents.

Calgary, AB: The 215th Strathcona Cub Scouts are creating care packages containing toiletries, clothing and food for homeless youth to be distributed through the Boys and Girls Club shelter.

St. Albert, AB: The 2nd St. Albert Scout Group is building 300 bee houses to help combat the alarming decline in local bee populations by providing a safe place for bees to live and flourish. The bee houses will be placed throughout St. Albert and on surrounding area farms.

St. Albert, AB: The 12th St. Albert Scouts are hosting a barbeque and carnival for the families staying at Ronald McDonald House Charities whose children are being treated in one of Edmonton’s medical facilities, providing these families with an afternoon of light-hearted fun during a difficult time. The Scouts are also donating new outdoor play equipment and toys and performing a spring-clean-up of the building’s exterior and yard.

Bracebridge, ON: The 3rd Bracebridge Beaver Scouts are creating 200 care packages comprised of clothing, toys, food, gift cards and more, to be distributed to underprivileged families through Muskoka Victims Services, Children’s Aid Society and Manna Food Bank.

Merrickville, ON: The 1st Merrickville Beaver Scouts and Cub Scouts are building on the butterfly garden adjacent to the Merrickville Public Library that they created for Good Turn Week in 2016. The Scouts are installing a rain barrel and planting new flowers and handing out seeds to the public to promote conservation of bees and butterflies.

Mississauga, ON: The 1st Sandalwood Cub Scouts are holding a knit-a-thon to fashion 100 scarves to be distributed to homeless individuals at local shelters. The group is encouraging knitting enthusiasts to join them to help exceed their goal.

Mississauga, ON: Scouts from across the GTA are launching Hand in Hand, a campaign to support the more than 550 youth annually who seek shelter and aid at Our Peel Place – a youth homeless shelter. The Scouts aim to educate other youth about youth homelessness, while collecting donations of fundamental care items for those who use the shelter.

Ottawa, ON: Ottawa Scouts are building a community garden at the Rochester Heights Community House to provide neighbourhood residents with a space to grow vegetables and learn about healthy eating practices.

Pickering, ON: The 7th Pickering Scout Group is launching a community pasta challenge, with the goal of filling a trailer with packaged pasta and sauce in support of St. Paul’s on the Hill Food Bank, which is facing a critical need for donations.

Russell, ON: The 2nd Russell Scouts, along with the Russell Lion’s Club and several community partners, are aiming to collect over two tonnes of non-perishable food for the Good Neighbours Food Bank.

Toronto, ON: GTA Scouts are partnering with Open Field Collective’s Street Projects to create a permanent gallery on Geoffrey St. in Toronto’s Roncesvalles Village that will give local artists a space to exhibit their works. The first exhibition will feature works by a local Toronto artist and will explore how communities come together to form the fabric of Canadian identity, in celebration of Canada’s 150thbirthday.

Toronto, ON: The 3rd Toronto Scout Group is working with Greenest City to create an accessible community vegetable garden in South Parkdale, targeted to seniors and those with mobility issues. The Scouts will build raised beds to reduce barriers for individuals who are unable bend down to cultivate ground level gardens. Extra vegetables grown in the garden will be donated to food banks and used in community meals.

Welland, ON: The 20th Welland Scout Group is building 52 nesting boxes to help support the repopulation of bluebirds, wood ducks, owls and tree swallows – disappearing species identified by Welland River Keepers. The boxes will be installed along 60 km of the Welland River.

Kingston, NS: The 1st Kingston Scout Group is distributing 5,000 wildflower seed packets to local schools and residents throughout the area to educate the community about the decline in the bee population and promote conservation.

Lantz, NS; Evergreen Park, NB; East Royalty, PEI; and St. John‘s, NL: Coordinated and led by Emma Comeau, a 16-year-old Mill Village Scout, Scouting groups from across the Atlantic provinces will plant thousands of wildflower seeds in an effort to bolster the struggling bee population, which is essential to the pollination of local crops.

St. John‘s, NL: The 1st Topsail Scouts are preparing meals at The Gathering Place, a local soup kitchen and outreach facility, to feed more than 200 people in need of a hot meal.

For more information visit Scouts.ca/goodturnweek.