We’ve all seen the bad news. But what good news stories are happening out there during the Covid-19 global pandemic? We’re collecting them all here.

Hello beautiful readers. By now many of us have undergone a barrage of recent news and social media posts that are doomy and gloomy. So we’ve decided to change the channel. For the foreseeable future we’ve dedicating all our social media posts to sharing the good news happening locally, as well as all the good local businesses out there and how we can continue to support them to help them stay afloat. We’ve also decided to collect them here so we have one resource for all the goodness out there. 

And on that not, got a good news story going on in your local neighbourhood? Send an email to vince@kootenaymountainculture.com and let us know about it.

Remember, we are all neighbours. We are all each other’s support network. We are all locals. #localsforlocals

West Kootenay artist Abby Wilson has created free downloadable posters of iconic places around the Koots that you can print at home and colour in with your kids. Thank you so much, Abby! We parents are forever grateful. Visit abbywilson.ca for the download link to the three posters.

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Oh yeah! The folks at Cascadian Beer Podcast have created a comprehensive list on how to order beer from your favourite breweries. Everyone’s in there from Tailout Brewing in Castlegar to Gladstone Brewing in Courtenay. It’s amazing to see there are almost 200 craft breweries in the province. Cheers to that. Here’s the list.

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Free Seeds! Kootenay Food noted the stress people were feeling seeing empty grocery shelves and stepped up by offering free heirloom seeds to locals. They’ll also be offering online video tips on planting and seed saving. The good news stories just keep growing!

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Wanna help front-line health care workers AND local restaurants? Monica Ander has organized a GoFundMe campaign to purchase individually packaged, frozen meals prepared by restaurateurs around the community and given to hospital staff. This is a photo from the first delivery. Well done Monica! Here’s the link.

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This is happening throughout Vancouver: people sharing food in the Little Free Libraries. We always thought these community sharing portals were great but now we love them even more! For those concerned about transmission via the boxes and cans, there’s a great vid on YouTube called “PSA grocery Shopping Tips in Covid-19.” Thank you to the great humanitarians out there.

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Wow! The Chevron gas stations in Castlegar and Trail are offering $10 off every fill-up of at least 20 litres of gas for first responders and medical workers. That includes hospital personnel, paramedics, police and firefighters. Here are the locations of the two stations: Trail and Castlegar.

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This is Sarah Butler. She just released a debut novel…during a global pandemic. Needless to say it’s been hard to start her book tour but Touchstones Museum in Nelson has graciously offered to hand-deliver her book “The Wild Heavens,” which the publisher says is a “love letter to the wilderness of BC’s interior, dealing with deeply human questions of wonder and belief, as well as how we move through grief and loss.” It’s also about a hairy, nine-foot creature with impossibly huge footprints. You can learn more about it here. And you can order via Touchstones by calling 250-352-9813 or emailing: info@touchstonesnelson.ca. (Btw, to make this local story even better, Sarah is wearing a dress by local designer We Are Stories.

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Good news out of Bozeman, Montana: Simms Fishing is stepping up in the fight against Covid by sewing medical gowns in its factory using the same material its fishing apparel is made with. In a time when the US is in desperate need of more masks, gloves, shields and aprons, it’s great to see a company shifting gears to help out.

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Huge props to Chickpea restaurant in Vancouver which has provided hundreds of meals to frontline workers at various hospitals throughout the city with assistance by The Juice Trick, Say Mercy and Breaking Bread Now. The campaign continues with the help of anonymous donors who want to ensure those working hard to keep us all safe are well nourished. Bravo Chickpea for taking the initiative and rallying the troops!

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Run out of eggs to colour over the Easter long weekend? We have good news from Colorado! Our buddy John Fellows has created a free colouring poster for Crested Butte News and the Gunnison Valley’s “Stay Safe Stay Home” campaign. For those unfamiliar with John’s work, it’s particularly special because he carves it as a stamp first before inking it. To get a copy of the high-res PDF, download it here. [divider type=”line”]

Good news from Bandidas Taqueria in Vancouver, BC. Free Burritos for frontline workers! If you’re working in essential services through these times (ie: hospital staff, grocery store staff, delivery drivers, emergency personnel, etc) good samaritan Jen Harvey has set up a tab for you, as a thank you for the hard work you are doing to keep everyone safe and supported. Simply mention Jen’s name when you order for pick up or delivery and get a free meal which includes one burrito (or bowl) and one drink.
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Good news story from the Slocan Valley. Drop Marine has re-tooled its shop to produce 5,000 face shields per day, with capacity for up to 48,000 units per day if demand requires. Now they need help getting the word out so they can get these shields to those who need them most. Visit Drop Marine’s Instagram page for more details. [divider type=”line”]

Good news out of North Vancouver: Arc’teryx has responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by manufacturing medical gowns for provincial health authorities. Five hundred of the gowns were delivered to hospitals last week and the company is expecting to manufacture 30,000 in the weeks ahead. Front-line staff have never looked so stylish! [divider type=”line”]

Wondering what it’s like to work on the front lines during all this? Here’s some good news from Nelson that’ll share some light: Paul Saso, the author of Kootenay Inspired has started a series of interviews called “Frontlines” and he says his goal is to “introduce you to some amazing people who are making it through this time in the best way they can.” Check out his first interview with Dr. Dharma Mcbride. [divider type=”line”]

The Cloth Castle in Victoria, BC, has nearly outfitted an entire hospital with caps thanks to a “Sew It Forward” campaign in which donors provide funds to help pay for the cost of the fabric. So far 400 scrub caps have been donated to Royal Jubilee Hospital health care workers and next they’ll be providing them for Vancouver General. If you want to sew it forward visit Cloth Castle’s Facebook page. [divider type=”line”]