Halifax Entrepreneur Launches 100-Day Kindness Campaign
HALIFAX–January can be a tough month, mentally and emotionally, even during the best of times. The weather is cold, days are short, and social activity has quieted compared to the bustle of the holiday season.
But this January may be one to top it all.
On top of all the usual toughness, we are two years into a pandemic most thought would be behind us by now. And the new wave of Omicron has caused more restrictions lockdowns.
One Halifax company, Made with Local, is launching a campaign called “100 Days of Community” to remind people that even the smallest acts of kindness can go a long way during these dreary times.
The company, famous for its healthy snacks made from locally produced ingredients, will be doing an act of kindness each day for 100 days. It will be posting updates on social media like Instagram to encourage others to join in the kindness.
“I feel there’s a lot of challenges for everybody right now, especially parents with young kids, especially people who don’t have the privilege of being self-employed like we are,” said Made with Local founder Sheena Russell. “Canadian winters are hard enough as it is without all the Covid stuff.”
“We’re always looking to contribute to the local community and be a good corporate citizen. So we thought, in these deep doldrums of winter, we could bring some light and positivity to this time.”
Like many people over the past two years, Russell has had to deal with a new level of stress brought on by the pandemic. She has discovered that doing things for others can be therapeutic.
“I’ve absolutely struggled the past couple of years,” says Russell. “I’ve experienced health anxieties, specifically around Covid. I’ve been really scared a lot of the time and it’s really hard to be in a fear state for a prolonged period of time.”
“Medicine for me is service; helping somebody in some way, serving in some way, it helps just to flip the switch.”
For the first day of kindness, on January 17, Made with local put together a wellness box filled with food and beverages for couriers and other professionals to thank them for their work during the pandemic.
Other ideas for future acts of kindness involve organizing beach cleanups and bringing snacks to frontline workers. But Russell encourages people to try and stick with small, achievable, acts.
“They need to be things we can action on every day, so keep it small and keep the actions that we’re making to be things other people can be inspired by and do in their own daily lives,” she advises.
“We really want folks to feel inspired to be able to institute these little gestures into their lives.”
As for Russell herself, expect her to do a lot of favours for others using food. She calls food her love language.
“I love food, which is probably not a surprise to anybody. I love sharing food, I love doorstep dropping a jar of soup or a loaf of bread-that’s one of my favourite things to do.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].