Do Good Work - Town Hall does a kind act for 30 Days of Kindness.
by Leeann Froese
Those that know me, know that each day I ask myself and my world: “have you been as kind as you can be today?”
So when blogger, friend, and client Marc Smith of 30 Day Adventures called for people to get involved in his latest blog series called 30 Days of Kindness, I leaped at the chance.
Presented by CHIMP and Provence, the second annual 30 Days of Kindness series sees Marc work with people and companies to spread 30+ acts of kindness.
For our act of kindness I asked my Town Hall team what they wanted to do; I said I wanted help those who are constantly helping others.
It was Andrew & Felicia from our design team that suggested we visit and recognize those who volunteer at Honour House.
So we went to Honour House. See the 30 Day Adventures blog post by Marc Smith on our act of kindness here.
It just so happened that Marc posted our kind act on World Kindness Day! How fitting. CTV spoke to Marc about his series, World Kindness Day and Honour House. If you want to watch the CTV coverage go here and check it out!
Honour House is a home away from home that offers temporary housing for Canadian Forces and Emergency Services personnel whose families or loved ones are receiving medical treatment in Greater Vancouver. This special refuge is almost 100% volunteer driven, and seemed like the perfect place to visit and show some kindness to the volunteers.
The house opened in 2010 and is a completely renovated heritage home in New Westminster that has 20 guest rooms, peaceful, brightly lit common areas and a shared kitchen. Craig Longstaff is the general manager, and Patti Graham, who looks after finances, are the only two paid staff members. Maintenance, upkeep and fundraising events are all managed by a group of dedicated volunteers. Craig gave our team a tour and we learned a lot about this unique facility.
A lot of care and love goes into Honour House on a regular basis; for example a group of quilt makers has sent over enough quilts for the entire house, as well as many child-sized quilts, which young guests of Honour House can take home with them when they return home.
Town Hall’s act of kindness was to take the volunteers some kind of a treat and help with some of their regular duties. Sally Koldenhof, owner of Custom Cookies by Sally, heard what we were planning, and made amazing maple leaf sugar cookies to fit Honour House’s theme. We then gave these to the volunteers and staff upon arrival.
As we learned more during our visit to Honour House we realized that this special facility needs more volunteers. Like any accommodation or B&B, when guests leave, things need to be cleaned and organized for the next set of people who will be staying.
With a number of VIPs set to visit Honour House on Remembrance Day for the parade and event to follow after in New Westminster, our timing could not have been better. The Town Hall team, along with Marc, spent a few hours working at Honour House on Friday November 8th.
I, Andrew, Felicia, Sujinder, Ali, Ben, and Marc raked leaves, made beds, vacuumed & mopped the floors over the course of an hour and a half alongside their volunteers and we were able to get the house cleaned from bottom to top.
After that was done the group posed for a photo and enjoyed the custom-made maple leaf Cookies by Sally. The volunteers, staff and the Town Hall team were super happy with the cookies.
During our time at Honour House we realized that the Honour House volunteers are amazing. No job was too big or too small, and they did everything with a smile. The ladies whom I helped were laughing and having fun pretty much the whole time. Their passion for Honour House is clear and they do whatever it takes to make sure the house is comfortable and clean when new guests arrive.
Craig was impressed with how much our team accomplished. He noted that they need five or six people to help them on a regular basis, to bolster their existing group of volunteers.
So, if your company, or you and a group of friends want to help those who regularly help others, check out the Honour House website at www.honourhouse.ca They would be very grateful for your help and so would the Canadian Forces and Emergency Services personnel, who stay there.
I especially send this note out to other companies - as a small business owner, if I and my team can find the time to do an afternoon of good work: I challenge you to do the same.