How Good Work Gets Seen
Episode Overview
What makes a story powerful enough to change how we see someone?
In this special conversation, Shannon sits down with Wendi Park, Doralin Ginter, and producer Johan Heinrichs to explore how stories invite us into one another’s lives and help communities care more deeply.
Together they unpack how storytelling builds empathy, why vulnerability matters, and how creativity, design, and audio quality play an important role in helping meaningful work be seen and understood.
You’ll also hear about the launch of Care Creatives Company, a new social enterprise created to help organizations, ministries, and businesses share their stories with clarity and excellence across Canada.
At the heart of the conversation is a simple idea:
Stories open the door to compassion.
Stories Are Like Welcome Mats
Wendi offers a simple metaphor that shapes the entire episode.
Stories are like welcome mats at the door.
In Canada, when we step into someone’s home, we pause, remove our shoes, and enter respectfully. Stories create a similar moment. They invite us to slow down, step into someone else’s world, and listen with humility.
When we do that, something changes.
Abstract ideas like poverty, loneliness, or community suddenly become personal. We stop thinking about problems and start seeing people.
How Stories Humanize Need
Facts and statistics can inform us, but stories move us.
Throughout the conversation, the guests reflect on how stories turn distant issues into real opportunities for care.
For example, a notification from CarePortal might share the story of a refugee mother caring for six children just minutes away. That moment transforms “poverty statistics” into something tangible, relational, and local.
When people encounter real stories like this, compassion often follows.
Stories help communities move from awareness to action.
The Courage of Vulnerability
Storytelling isn’t only about hearing someone else’s story. It also invites us to share our own.
Wendi reflects on how stories have shaped her faith and understanding of people around the world. Listening to the experiences of others helped move her faith from abstract theology into something lived and relational.
But vulnerability goes both ways.
True connection happens when we not only listen to others, but also welcome people into our own stories, including the messy parts.
That kind of honesty builds dignity, trust, and community.
Why Creativity and Quality Matter
Doralin explains that the visual side of communication is often the first doorway people encounter.
Websites, branding, and printed materials create the first impression people have of an organization. They help people decide whether they want to learn more.
Johan adds that the same is true in audio.
Poor sound quality or unclear storytelling can cause people to disengage, even if the message is meaningful.
Quality visuals and audio aren’t about vanity. They help stories land clearly and honour the people behind those stories.
In other words, how we communicate shapes whether people listen.
Introducing Care Creatives Company
This conversation also marks the introduction of Care Creatives Company, a new initiative connected to CareImpact.
Care Creatives is a social enterprise that provides professional creative services including:
Podcast production
Website design
Branding and visual design
Print materials and marketing support
The goal is simple.
Help organizations, businesses, and community leaders share their work with excellence.
What makes this initiative unique is that all proceeds support community care initiatives, helping strengthen programs like CarePortal and CareLabs across Canada.
It’s storytelling that multiplies impact.
What This Means for Our Communities
This episode reminds us that compassion often begins with something small.
A story.
A conversation.
A moment of listening.
When stories are shared well, they build empathy, invite people into meaningful work, and remind us that none of us are meant to walk through life alone.
And sometimes, all it takes is stepping onto someone’s welcome mat.
Reflection Questions
As you listen, consider these questions:
When was the last time someone’s story changed how you saw them?
How might curiosity open the door to deeper relationships in your community?
What stories around you might need to be told with greater care and clarity?
One Small Step
Think of one organization, business, or neighbour in your community doing meaningful work.
Take a moment this week to learn their story.
Listen. Encourage. Share it with someone else.
Because when stories are told well, they don’t just inform us.
They help us care.
Episode transcript Read the full transcript
Introduction to Storytelling and Why It Matters
Wendi Park: When I think of stories, I think of them kind of like welcome mats. And in Canada, when you go to somebody's door, you stop at that mat, take off your shoes before you enter in. Part of that is just good housekeeping. That's just how Canadians roll. But it's also a time of transition. You're entering into somebody's space, you're entering into their world, and you share something in common in that moment. I think stories do that for us.
Wendi Park: They invite us to step into somebody else's life, and we kind of take off our shoes in humility. There's something sacred about it being their story to share, and our role is to listen and be present.
Johan Heinrichs: What makes a story stick? Not just the facts, not just the headline, but the moment when you realize there's a real person behind it. On this podcast, we spend a lot of time listening to those moments, stories of neighbours showing up for one another, stories that remind us that compassion isn't just an idea. It's something ordinary people live out every day.
Johan Heinrichs: But today's episode is a little bit different. Instead of hearing one story from a guest, we're pulling back the curtain on something that sits underneath many of the stories you hear on Neighborly, how stories are shared, how they're seen, and why the way we communicate them actually matters.
Johan Heinrichs: You'll hear from someone many of you already know, Wendi Park, the founder of CareImpact. She's joined by her sister Dorlyn, who brings years of experience in design and visual storytelling. I'll jump in on the conversation as well, because this topic sits right at the heart of the work I love doing.
Johan Heinrichs: Together, we'll talk about why stories have the power to change how we see people, why quality and creativity matter more than we sometimes realize, and how a new initiative called CareCreatives Co. is hoping to help organizations share their work in a way that truly connects with community. Because behind every mission, every organization, and every act of care, there's a story waiting to be told. So let's join Shannon at the table.
The Neighbours Who Shaped Us
Shannon Steeves: Good morning, team. Wendi, Johan, Dorlyn, I love getting to start every podcast episode because I get to hear these cool stories about people's neighbours. Johan already answered this question way back at the beginning of the season. So Wendi, growing up, who was a neighbour that you'll never forget?
Wendi Park: When we lived in the countryside, we didn't really have physical neighbours next door for most of my memory. But one memory I have is from preschool. My mum was part of this thing called Nefren, which was like a sewing circle. The women in the countryside, just outside of town, would gather weekly. They would sing, do some Bible study, and sew together.
Wendi Park: I just remember the smell of cabbage soup and pistachio pudding and all these odd things. I would sit under my mum's chair and just watch them doing community. That's kind of a childhood memory I have when I think of neighbours.
Shannon Steeves: That's beautiful. Cabbage soup and pistachio pudding. That's quite the combo.
Johan Heinrichs: Sounds weird.
Wendi Park: Actually, I'm repulsed by pistachio pudding because I overate it. This one lady would always bring it because she knew I liked it. I overdid it.
Johan Heinrichs: Yeah.
Wendi Park: So I won't eat it again.
Shannon Steeves: Dorlyn, how about for you? Who was a neighbour that you'll never forget?
Dorlyn: When I think of a neighbour, growing up out in the country, like Wendy said, we had an older gentleman living beside us. Mr. Brown was his name. As a child, I just saw him as this kind, friendly, older grandpa-type man. I loved going there, and he would give us chips and things like that.
Dorlyn: It was only later that I realized he was actually struggling with addictions, a broken marriage, and other hard things. I didn't see that as a child. He was always friendly and would have something for us or tell us stories. I have really good memories of him, but looking back, I realize now he was a hurting man.
Shannon Steeves: And for our listeners that don't know, Wendi and Dorlyn are sisters, so they both grew up together outside of town. I'm excited to get into this episode today. We're going to talk a lot about stories and communication and sharing the incredible things that are happening, and how we can do that better together.
How Stories Shape Compassion and Response
Shannon Steeves: Wendi, you have spent years helping churches and communities care for families. What have you noticed about how stories shape the way people respond to needs?
Wendi Park: When I think of stories, I think of them like welcome mats. In Canada, when you go to somebody's door, you stop at that mat and take off your shoes before you enter in. Part of that is just good housekeeping, but it's also a transition. You're entering into somebody's space, somebody's world, and sharing something in common in that moment. I think stories do that for us.
Wendi Park: They invite us to step into somebody else's life, and we kind of take off our shoes in humility. There's something sacred about it being their story to share, and us simply listening and being present. When we do that, stories change us. They humanize people. They move us from black-and-white thinking into fuller definition. We begin to say, wow, I didn't realize that.
Wendi Park: Jesus is our best example. He led with stories and connected with people through story. In what we do with CareImpact, story is central to everything we do. CarePortal, for example, is very story-based. It's a connecting technology that links needs in the community, identified through social services and frontline agencies, with community members, especially the church, but really all of community, through these stories.
Wendi Park: It's not just, here's a need and here's a statistic. It's not just, boy, do we need backpacks. Those physical needs matter, but story is what makes the connection. We teach social workers the importance of storytelling, not just to get social justice points or to make things abstract, but to help people relate.
Wendi Park: I could talk all day about poverty statistics, increasing addictions, homelessness, and all the issues we're facing across Canada. People might empathize on one level. But if someone opens up their CarePortal app and sees that ten minutes from their house there is a refugee widow from Iraq with six children trying to settle in Canada, and social services doesn't want to pull the family apart, but the children have no beds, no adequate food, and not enough clothing, and the system's resources are insufficient, that lands differently.
Wendi Park: If that mum needs beds and bunk bed frames, and I tell that story or communicate it to a church, it lands differently than just saying, we need to do something about poverty. It's the same with CareLabs and the Cost of Poverty Experience. People step into the life of an actual story. By the end, they don't just say, they should do better, or I would do this. They have empathy. Story is a huge part of all we do, and it makes meaningful connection possible.
How stories change the listener
Shannon Steeves: That's right. It humanizes people. We can see ourselves in their story and them in us, whether our stories are exactly the same or not. Johan, you've helped produce a lot of the stories on this podcast. What is your perspective on the impact stories have on listeners?
Johan Heinrichs: One thing I wish I had done is keep track of how many times people came up to me and mentioned a story they heard on the Neighborly Podcast, formerly Journey with Care, and said how much it adjusted the way they view people and the way they think.
Johan Heinrichs: It's amazing that this little podcast can have such an impact, even on a few individuals. Just hearing that feedback makes it worth it. My love of podcasting came from listening to podcasts and finding that I view others differently because of story. Even helping host these episodes, hearing the interviews, and listening over and over while editing, I find that I'm viewing people differently myself.
Johan Heinrichs: It's good for me. I love doing the podcast for my own personal transformation. Stories humanize people. Everything CareImpact does when it comes to compassion, loving our neighbours, and doing CarePortal, once you put a voice or a face to a story, it has way more impact than hearing information about some abstract thing that happened somewhere else. Story is huge. Obviously, as a podcast guy, I have a bias, but still, story matters.
How stories reshape faith and everyday compassion
Shannon Steeves: You're already hitting the core of this, how stories can change the way we see people. For any of you, how has hearing stories changed how you see people in everyday life?
Johan Heinrichs: When I encounter people daily, hearing these neighbour stories changes me. Even the way we can love our neighbours differently. I used to maybe just walk by them, like the story of the Good Samaritan. I'd be the guy who walked by. But now I look a little longer. There's a story behind that person. I wonder what it is.
Johan Heinrichs: Because I hear so many stories, it makes me want to go deeper and engage people more. It naturally causes me to have compassion on individuals that I encounter. I can point specifically to the start of this podcast, when it was Journeying with Care. We did a whole season on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and the church. That really flipped the script on a lot of my thinking, on how we engage with Indigenous people and how we can walk alongside them as the church. That had a huge impact on my thinking and how I relate to the Indigenous people I encounter.
Shannon Steeves: So good. Wendi, Dorlyn, anything you want to add?
Wendi Park: Story has actually informed my faith. There have been times where I've felt disillusioned with religion and theology. I studied it, but you get to a point of asking, so what? At the end of the day, Jesus loves me and I should love my neighbour. But what about all the extra things and all the layers?
Wendi Park: I'm not dismissing theology, but story has done something for me. I'm a story seeker. I did my undergrad overseas, and later, during my master's, I went to the Middle East because I needed to hear the stories of people rather than just seeing headlines on the news. I was curious, and I was also looking for purpose and meaning.
Wendi Park: Their stories informed me in how true the Gospel still is, and how it is being lived out. Stories impacted my perspective, my worldview, and actually brought life to my spiritual self. Whether people are believers or not, there's something sacred when you step into their story and see the image of Christ in people.
Wendi Park: You can't see the image of Christ in a headline. You can't see it simply through a solid expository sermon. But you can see the sacredness in others and the image of Christ when you step into their stories and see how gracious God is, or how He is showing up in their lives. So I don't think storytelling is only about doing good or making an impact in the world, though it does that. It's more personal than that. Stories change us in how we show up with others and how vulnerable we become.
Wendi Park: We can't just extract other people's stories and say, wow, that felt good, or wow, I saw God there. We also have to ask where we are being vulnerable and letting other people onto our own welcome mat. Sometimes it's easier to hear the powerful stories out there, the Iraqi woman, the Indigenous family coming out of residential schools, and parade those stories on our stages. But if we're not willing to be vulnerable with our own stories, then we're missing something.
Wendi Park: My house is messy sometimes, but I still have to welcome people in. Sharing my story is just as much a part of my growth as listening to others. It's reciprocal.
Why Many Good Organizations Struggle to Communicate Clearly
Shannon Steeves: We've talked about how stories impact us personally and in our roles at CareImpact. I want to take this a step further. Wendi, when we're working with other organizations, what challenges do you see when it comes to communicating the work they are doing?
Wendi Park: I've been in the non-profit world even before founding CareImpact twelve or thirteen years ago. I was doing community development work and working deeply in social justice. One thing I see is that we can talk in acronyms, we can geek out around the table with other agencies, but we can start talking in ways that don't actually make our work accessible to the everyday public.
Wendi Park: We need to carry a heart for community in the way we communicate. We need to make it grade-five English, accessible for everybody. Not just so the people we serve can understand, but so the broader community can see themselves in the story, not only as donors, but as volunteers and participants in good community.
Wendi Park: That accessible language matters. We also need to gently educate people on why community needs to be involved. I'm a huge proponent of collective impact, getting the whole community involved. We need on-ramps so community and other sectors can work with us. There is often a scarcity mentality, where people want to hold things close and not share resources or insight.
Wendi Park: Shannon, I love the work you're doing here in Winnipeg because you're breaking that. You're bringing agency workers together. You're moving people from an us-and-them mindset to a we mentality. We're wrestling through how to better engage community, and that's something CareImpact is deeply committed to.
Shannon Steeves: I think there are organizations and businesses who want to be communicating what they're doing, but they might just have limited capacity. They may be focused on the tangible work of caring for people on the ground, and storytelling or communication just can't be the priority.
Wendi Park: I agree. And if you're someone who wants to get involved in the community but feels like you don't know how, or that organizations are too busy to talk to you, then get curious. Approach a neighbour organization that's doing good work. Go to their public events. Don't wait for an invitation. Find ways to get curious.
Wendi Park: Ask questions without coming in with an agenda. Ask where they're finding the most challenge. Ask what opportunities they would love community to step into. That's how we got involved in Winnipeg. I kept asking organizations across the city, what would you love trained community members to do if they had access and opportunity? CarePortal identifies those things and makes them practical and accessible. In the meantime, get curious and ask how you can get involved, and get involved with CarePortal.
Why Visual Identity and Audio Quality Matter
Shannon Steeves: There are so many skill sets and gifts out there that people maybe don't realize can make a real impact. Dorlyn, I want to turn to you. Often the first thing someone encounters isn't a story, but something visual, a website, a logo, or printed material. Why does that matter for organizations or businesses in the community?
Dorlyn: The visual is generally the front door. Often people will look at your website or see something visual first, and that's how they hear about you. That's where they'll form their impression before they ever hear your story. That's where they'll decide whether they want to hear more of your story or learn more about what you do.
Dorlyn: If you have a good presence, especially online, people judge you by that whether we like it or not. So it's important. Organizations and businesses may be doing amazing work or offering an incredible product or service, but if that visual story isn't there, they won't be seen. People won't hear about their good work or know how they can get involved.
Shannon Steeves: Johan, as someone who's been in the podcast space for a long time, where does storytelling fit alongside branding or websites?
Johan Heinrichs: It's been proven that brands that tell their story do better than ones that don't. I have a side business in podcasting, and obviously I also do this with CareImpact. I've worked with small businesses and a few larger ones, and storytelling through podcasting is powerful because podcasts are intimate. Listener retention is stronger than many video formats because it's in your ear. People are usually listening while doing chores or driving, so they're less distracted.
Johan Heinrichs: It's one thing to tell your story on a podcast, but doing it with quality is really important because there's so much competition now. Technology is getting better, and it's easier than ever to sound good or look good. The ones standing out are the ones that actually do. That's why I make it my mission to make us sound as good as possible. If people are willing to be vulnerable and tell their stories, we want to do that justice. We want it to sound good and come through clearly so the message is clear.
Wendi Park: I actually dropped a podcast just yesterday. The content was good, but I couldn't handle the sound. That's not a judgment on the content or the person behind it, but my ears just couldn't handle it. It was like static in my ears. Statistics show that if you don't have good sound, you defeat the message. It's like what Dorlyn said, if you don't have good visuals, people will judge you and may not look further into the good work you do. Sound matters. You're going to lose people if you don't do it well. Johan, you've given me an appreciation for that, but my ears know good sound.
Shannon Steeves: Such a good point, that quality in what we're hearing and seeing really matters.
The Vision Behind CareCreatives Co.
Shannon Steeves: Johan, you already hinted at this. Wendi, can you share about the process of noticing that organizations across Canada are doing meaningful work but are often lacking creative infrastructure, and how that led to CareCreatives Co.?
Wendi Park: It actually birthed CareImpact itself. I loved the work I was doing before CareImpact, but what got me to quit my job and travel across the country looking for what was happening in our cities and communities was this: we need to do things better together. There was a lot of good happening, but much of it was siloed and disjointed. It was inefficient. We can create systemic change and go upstream to reverse poverty cycles and other patterns, but not if we stay disconnected.
Shannon Steeves: So how did that eventually give shape to CareCreatives?
Wendi Park: We've developed infrastructure for Canada. We're still in an early stage, a beta stage in some ways, but we're ready to expand. CarePortal is a connecting technology, kind of like an Uber for practical needs. CareLabs helps bring meaningful training across the country so organizations working in isolation can get connected, and churches can get equipped for good works together, not just talk about it.
Wendi Park: Podcasting has been an effective way for us to connect with Canada, and we want to showcase beautiful things that other organizations are doing, not just in philanthropy or ministry, though those matter. We want to serve those groups through strong podcasting, because it does make a difference. But we also want to serve the marketplace. There are marketplace leaders who want to do social good. They have stories to share. They aren't just trying to get rich. They have Kingdom mindsets, and we want their stories heard too.
Wendi Park: Visually, we want websites to look good so they connect people into the broader community. We want business cards to work because those little things matter. CareCreatives Co. is a social enterprise so we can compete with the best. Johan and Dorlyn will be too humble to say it, but they have over thirty years of professional experience in audio, visual work, websites, and more. They've been doing it in the marketplace, and now we're creating this company so people can get the same calibre of service they would get from a for-profit.
Wendi Park: The difference is that all the proceeds go back into the community. So by getting your stories out there and meeting your communication needs, you're paying for something you would pay for anyway, but in this case it also fuels community connections through CarePortal and CareLabs. It's a win-win. It's not just about social enterprise revenue. We want marketplace leaders, ministry leaders, and people in government to become good storytellers, because stories connect and stories humanize. We want people to know who you are beyond your logo, although we can build your logo too.
What Excites the Team About Helping Others Communicate Better
Shannon Steeves: Johan and Dorlyn, as two people who will be leading this company, what excites you most about helping people share their work more clearly, whether that's through audio production, print products, or website design?
Dorlyn: From my experience in business, marketing, design, and websites, what excites me is seeing the confidence that a good brand, a good logo, and a good website gives people. So often you see their eyes light up and they're proud to show what they do. It gives them confidence and credibility, and people on the outside can feel that too.
Dorlyn: Branding isn't just a logo. It's how someone feels when they see your workplace, visit your website, or talk to you on the phone. That's all part of brand. If we can help build that, it brings confidence to the owner and the team. It's a beautiful thing to see. That's always been a highlight for me, to help bring confidence to people.
Shannon Steeves: How about for you, Johan?
Johan Heinrichs: I love giving businesses a platform to become thought leaders in their field. That happens often when businesses start a podcast. I've even lost clients because they've grown beyond the podcast and moved into TED Talks or TV opportunities because the podcast helped them grow. That's not always great for me, but it's good for them.
Johan Heinrichs: What excites me is that there are so many good stories and organizations doing good work, but people have no way of knowing unless those stories are told. And now podcasting matters more than ever because episodes are becoming searchable in Google as transcripts are added to platforms. So when people search, Google can find answers inside the transcript. That makes podcasting even more strategic.
Johan Heinrichs: There are so many podcasts out there now that people almost expect to see one on your website. It's becoming something every business needs if they want to stand out and be thought leaders in their space. It excites me to see businesses grow, do well, and tell new stories, especially local Canadian stories.
Shannon Steeves: Absolutely. There are so many incredible organizations, businesses, and small family-owned operations that have a heart for community or a heart to provide a quality craft or service. Those stories need to be shared. And there's so much learning and perspective change that happens when those stories are amplified.
Wendi Park: When we do good audio, good visual work, and good storytelling through all our senses, that becomes a way of spreading good news that we often underestimate. People may not be open to hearing the Gospel directly or your core convictions right away, but they will be drawn in by the hope you carry and the hope-filled stories you share.
Wendi Park: We already have enough headlines grounding us in the reality of war, desperation, and disunity. We need good stories. That's the antidote to a lot of what is bad out there, to produce more good stories and to do it with excellence. Through CareCreatives Co., we can help you tell good stories and be good in your community.
Closing
Johan Heinrichs: The stories we share here remind us that care does not have to be perfect to be powerful. It just has to be present. Neighborly is an initiative of CareImpact, a Canadian charity equipping churches, agencies, and communities with technology and training to care better together.
Johan Heinrichs: This episode was produced by CareCreatives Co., a social enterprise of CareImpact. If you're building a podcast and want help with strategy, editing, or full production, visit carecreativesco.ca to connect with us. I'm Johan. Thanks for listening, and keep being the kind of neighbour someone will never forget, in a good way.
Johan Heinrichs: Being a stranger, I'm no longer a stranger.
Johan Heinrichs: Turning over tables, tearing down walls, building up the bridges between the souls of this journey.
