Kind Deeds Making the Internet: #4

To make the task of compiling Kind Deeds Making the Internet easier for me each week, I make sure to immediately take note when I come across a nice piece of news, or mentions on social media of humans being good. On the flip side, while searching for these positive stories, I can't help but notice just how many negative stories are out there as well. I haven't kept a running tally, but if I was a betting person I would not be surprised if someone did an analysis that revealed a monstrous number of bad stories over good. I mean, how many times have you ever thought we lived in The Bad Place or the Darkest Timeline??

That's why I think this weekly round-up - and 12 Months of Gratitude, in general - are so important. I'm a few days late with this post (I try to summarize and post on Fridays), but I'm still blogging about what I came across this week because it's hard to feel good about the state of the world when the scourge of humanity get all the airtime. Here are a few snippets for us all to reflect on what "being human" should really mean.

Screenshot cred: Sophie Grégoire Trudeau on Instagram,
February 1, 2018

Businesses tackling the stigma of mental illness
The annual Bell Let's Talk campaign took place last week, which aims to bring awareness to issues surrounding mental health and, in particular, to promote "mental health awareness, acceptance and action built on...fighting stigma, improving access to care, supporting world-class research and leading by example in workplace mental health." Many folks in Canada contributed to the conversation; see this handy compilation by Bell of what Canadians had to say about mental illness.

Google has also been doing its part to involve others in conversations around emotional distress, and has created a Made by Google video campaign, drawing on the experiences of real people, to promote the work of the Suicide Prevention Lifelife.

Inspiring others in art, life and wellness
When music producer and DJ J.PERIOD was just a young man, he wrote a letter to Wyclef Jean of The Fugees to debate the meaning of one of his lyrics. To the young man's surprise, Wyclef not only responded, but actually called J.PERIOD to have a discussion. As put by J.PERIOD: "It was an unbelievable act of generosity from a superstar. The conversation lasted nearly an hour. I was floored, even more by what came next: a lyric on The Score dedicated to the Kid. I was just a fan, and the fact that Wyclef went so far to bless me will never be forgotten." Years later, the two met and rehashed the experience. For all the details, check out the story on Twitter.

Screenshot cred: Bob Harper on Instagram, January 24, 2018

It shocked many when celebrity fitness personality Bob Harper had a heart attack in February 2017. Thankfully, he survived and has been sharing his experience to help others in their own personal health journeys. He's written many books about health, and #twocupsin is only one of his latest initiatives to provide tips and advice on living a healthy life. Check out the episode on managing stress which aired last week. See the first ever clip where he explains what #twocupsin is all about.

Helping those who need it the most
The Sunday Edition on CBC last weekend aired a story about a post office for the homeless in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This post office was created by volunteer and Canadian immigrant Bin Wang at a community organization called Le Sac à Dos, and provides mail slots for people with no fixed address, who would have no way to receive mail otherwise. The story comes in at about five and a half minutes, and is a great listen for anyone needing a boost of faith in humanity.

Research conducted in 2011 and 2012 showed that more than one million Canadian households were either moderately or severely food insecure, meaning that they were sometimes uncertain of having, or being unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of everyone in the household - including children. A petition was started last week urging the Canadian government to implement a national anti-food waste law, "requiring that all supermarkets give unused food to foodbanks...It is doable, and it is already being done in communities worldwide." See highlights from News1130 on this movement to reduce food waste.

Locals helping locals
And finally, a story for those in Vancouver. Patrons of restaurant Café Medina will be glad to know the establishment has dropped its "no reservations" policy for the month of February in support of the BC Hospitality Foundation (BCHF), a local non-profit charity that provides support for individuals within the hospitality community who are coping with a financial crisis arising from a health or medical condition. The "Front of the Line" Fundraiser asks guests to make a $25 per table donation ($35 on Saturdays and Sundays), with 100 per cent of proceeds donated to BCHF. Read SCOUT Magazine's story for all the details.

That's it! Hope you're all making the most of your weekends. Be good to one another.

About Kind Deeds Making the Internet
Each Friday (or so), I will post highlights of cool people doing kind things that popped up in the news or in social media that week. Hopefully this will be inspirational in helping us all think about who we would like to acknowledge with gratitude, kudos or thanks. For future weekly highlights, be sure to send me anything you think would make for interesting reading.