Kind Canadians Start "Caremongering" Trend to Spread Goodwill During Coronavirus Pandemic Leave it to Canadians to set the standard for kindness during a global pandemic. What started as a way to help vulnerable people in metropolitan cities has now become a widespread "caremongering" movement across the country. All over the world, kind people have been looking out for members of their communities who have been negatively impacted by the virus. From American musicians streaming free concerts online, to exercises classes held for quarantined residents on their balconies in Spain, times of crisis can
28
often bring out the goodwill in people. In Canada, Facebook groups have been set up in various cities and towns across the country, with hundreds of thousands of members between them. The acts of kindness are arranged online, with hashtags serving as a record of the good deeds happening across Canadian communities. The groups are described as places "for sharing and organizing community resources in response to COVID-19." The first group to begin "caremongering"
was started by Mita Hans, a social services worker, with the help of Valentina Harper. "Scaremongering is a big problem," Hans told BBC News in March. "Caremongering has spread the opposite of panic in people, brought out community and camaraderie, and allowed us to tackle the needs of those who are at-risk all the time - now more than ever." "We can't focus on the negative," Harper added. "The only way we can get out of this okay is by being kind to each other."
Š Alexander Dummer
BY RAYE MOCIOIU
