HEADLINES | Neighbours, Curling, and a Rooster’s Wake-Up Call
Description
What does neighbourly care look like when it shows up in everyday life—free from noise, but rooted in presence?
This story turns our attention to ordinary moments: a shared meal in a Manitoba winter, ribbons tied on a neighbour’s door, volunteers sweeping a curling rink, and even the debates sparked by a rooster at sunrise. Through gentle headlines and honest reflections, we’re invited to notice the small, sustaining gestures that keep communities connected long after the headlines fade.
Sources
Ontario’s Mutual Aid Pilot Weaves Everyday Care into Neighbourhood Resilience
Original story: “Neighbours Helping Neighbours: Pilot Learning Report (2023–2025)” – Hey Neighbour Collective / Building Resilient Neighbourhoods (Sept 26, 2025)
https://www.heyneighbourcollective.ca/2025/09/neighbours-helping-neighbours-learning-report/
Additional: https://www.resilientneighbourhoods.ca/neighbours-helping-neighbours/
BC Curling Volunteers Sweep Up Community Joy on the Ice
Original story: “National Volunteer Week 2025” – Curl BC (May 1, 2025)
https://www.curlbc.ca/national-volunteer-week-2025/
Neighbourhood Watch – Salt Spring Island Rooster Case
Original story: “Salt Spring Island 'chicken war' moves to court as rooster owner challenges noise bylaw” – Jason Proctor, CBC News (May 17, 2022)
Winnipeg’s Chalmers Hub Turns Holiday Gatherings into Year-Round Care
Original story: “Chalmers Neighbourhood Renewal” community bulletin – Winnipeg Free Press (Nov 19, 2025)
Hub page: https://chalmersrenewal.org
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Johan Heinrichs:
These headlines point us back to what really matters. Ordinary neighbors showing extraordinary care. I'm Johan Heinrichs and this is Neighbourly Headlines. Real stories of kindness, community and faith in action across Canada. Let's take a look at what's been happening close to home. Most days, headlines rush past us full of noise. But tucked inside are some stories that remind us of kindness and faith at work in ordinary places. Today we're celebrating the quiet, everyday ways Canadians are turning their neighborhoods into places of real support.
Johan Heinrichs:
From mutual aid check ins to community rinks and community hubs that keep the lights on long after the holiday decorations come down. Lets get right into our headlines. Ontario's everyday mutual aid. Across three Ontario neighbourhoods, the building resilient neighbourhoods pilot trained everyday folks to offer simple practical support. Things like walking a new mother's baby so that she can take a nap. Or tying a daily ribbon to an elderly neighbor's door so they know someone is checking in. Over two years these small gestures have reduced loneliness, strengthened trust and helped people age safely in their own homes. It's neighborliness distilled to its clearest form.
Johan Heinrichs:
Ordinary people showing up again and again with whatever they have. What I love here is how care can become contagious. One trained neighbor inspires three more and suddenly a whole block is holding each other gently. To me, this is loving your neighbor made beautifully concrete. Curling volunteers keeping B.C. communities alive in the small British Columbia towns of Kimberley and Kelowna, curling volunteers like Denise and Warren are the reason the ice stays swept, tournaments run smoothly and newcomers always feel welcome. They juggle coaching, rank maintenance, event planning and even food bank shifts. All to make sure that the curling club remains a vibrant gathering place for every generation.
Johan Heinrichs:
Their passion has turned the winter sport into a year round community glue, drawing visitors and keeping small town hearts beating strong. It's proof that when you pour love into something you love, the whole neighborhood gets swept along in the joy. And as the church. Why don't we use this as a good example of how to use our spaces well to become the heart of a community and the source of vibrancy of people coming together. Just a little food for thought. Before we get into our last story. It's time for Neighborhood Watch where we peek at the real complaints Canadians bring to their cities. Because community life is nothing if not creative.
Johan Heinrichs:
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia A full on chicken war is headed to court as a rooster owner challenges a noise bylaw over her bird Orion, who has allegedly been waking the neighbors far too early for their taste. On Salt Spring island, one neighbor claims the rooster next door is loud and it must be hooked up to an amplifier. The owner insists he's no louder than nearby ferry traffic and and says Oregon is essential for protecting her flock. Bylaw officers have taken decibel readings, issued tickets and offered rooster curfew solutions like automatic coop doors. Now the whole debate rule rights, noise rules and what counts as a real farm is landing in provincial court. And yes, there is a petition with hundreds of signatures supporting the rooster. I've encountered some odd bold birds with but if your neighbor's rooster sounds amplified, that's less of a poultry problem and more of an acoustics phenomenon. Jump into our Carrier Impact podcast group on Facebook and vote.
Johan Heinrichs:
Would you call this one in? Would you talk to your neighbor? Would you do something to the rooster? Or would you let it go quietly and invest in noise canceling headphones? Whatever your stance is, every neighborhood's got its quirks. Now onto our final story. Winnipeg's Chalmers Hub turns holidays into year round care. Now this one's personal because I grew up going to that community club. I played for the soccer team and we went undefeated two years in a row. And last I checked, a few years ago, our team picture was still hanging on that wall. Anyway, on with the story. At the Chalmers Neighborhood Renewal Hub on Poplar Avenue in Winnipeg, volunteers recently hosted two heartfelt December fundraisers, complete with shared meals, laughter and neighbors pitching in side by side to support family programs, senior activities and active living initiatives year round.
Johan Heinrichs:
In the middle of a Manitoba winter, people showed up with food, time and donations to make sure their community hub stays warm, open and deeply welcoming, its holiday spirit transformed into tangible, lasting care for an entire block. This one makes me smile because it shows how a potluck or a bake sale can quietly become the heartbeat of a sustained neighborly love. These headlines remind us that good news is still all around us if we take the time to notice. Do you have a story of care happening in your neighborhood? Share it at NeighborlyPodcast CA or join our Care Impact podcast group on Facebook. Neighbourly is an initiative of Care Impact, a Canadian charity equipping churches, agencies and communities with tech and training to care better together. Learn more@careimpact CA. I'm Johan Heinrichs and this has been Neighborly Headlines because every story of care deserves to be seen and shared.
SONG:
Turning over tables tearing down walls.
Johan Heinrichs:
Up.
SONG:
The bridges between the stones of these Turning over tables Breaking off chains When I see you in a stranger.
