COVID-19 made 2020 a very difficult year for everyone.
Between isolation, cancelled events, sick loved ones and concerns about the spread of COVID-19, there is no denying it has been a year full of ups and downs – possibly with more downs than ups.
We at SooToday wanted to share with you all some of the feel-good stories, highlighting some of the special people in our community who went above and beyond to make the city a better place at a time when we needed it the most.
Thoughtful messages for long-term care residents amid COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic shut down businesses and restricted visitors and regular programming in long-term care homes, thoughtful snow showers painted a cheerful and heartwarming message in the snowy field to the east of the home.
The icy note read 'thinking of you,' reminding residents that they are not alone. Check out photos of the message here.
In May, Search and Rescue and friends paid a visit to the F.J. Davey Home with positive messages for residents and front-line workers. Watch the full video of the parade of positivity here.
Recycling company finds woman's lost engagement ring amid 40 tonnes of paper
In late March, a local woman rejoiced when the crew at GFL Environmental found her lost engagement ring, which she had accidentally tossed into her recycling bin.
GFL district manager John Martella and a group of employees shut down operations and looked for the ring. The guys were bursting with excitement when they found the ring only 30 minutes into the recovery operation.
Martella described the mission as 'team building,' stating they were happy they could make someone's day especially during a crisis like COVID-19.
Read the full story by SooToday's Darren Taylor here.
Local couple prints over 1,000 plastic 'ear protectors' for front-line health workers
With COVID-19 creating a slow-down in the real estate market, Joanne Kovich and Jason Sproule put their down time to good use by running their 3D printers around the clock to create much-needed PPE for front-line workers.
Sproule says the Century 21 couple went from being extremely busy to just having the odd client. Watching the daily COVID news pour in, Sproule says he and his wife “took a step back and thought about how they could help.”
By mid-April, they had donated over 1,000 the hooks to front-line workers, personal support workers, and staff in care facilities.
Learn more about the pair's efforts here.
Local couple raises funds to buy gift cards for healthcare workers
In mid-April, a husband and wife duo launched a GoFundMe page to purchase gift cards from a local business to give to healthcare workers.
Marla Guzzo and husband Adam Slumskie launched the campaign which raised $7,845.
The idea started with simply bringing some baked goods and pizza to hospital staff and soon morphed into a full-blown fundraising campaign to say thanks to frontline workers in the health sector.
Read the full story by SooToday's James Hopkin here.
Sault business owners make generous donations to soup kitchen
With COVID-19 shutdowns resulting in a number of layoffs, the Sault Ste. Marie Soup Kitchen saw an increase in clients at the food bank in April of this year.
Two Sault business owners stepped up to help the soup kitchen with the cost of feeding the needy.
John Palmerio, Palmerio Insurance (The Co-operators) owner, approached his friend Don Bruni, MicroAge owner, the two agreeing to donate $1,000 a month ($500 each), to the soup kitchen for each remaining month in 2020.
Read more about their efforts here.
Local gym guru comes up with 50-lasagna plan to help local families in need
While food banks struggled to stay stocked as COVID-19 continued to impact the economy, owner of Catalyst Fitness and Two-Brain Business Chris Cooper came with the idea to help local families.
His lasagna plan helped aid 50 local families, while also helping to take the sting out of a local business's pandemic-related closure.
Read more about the plan here.
Six-year-old gives back to the community for his birthday
A generous 6-year-old wanted to help his community during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, for his birthday, Jaxon didn't ask for toys or video games. He asked people to give monetary donations to the Soup Kitchen instead.
He raised over $636 in lieu of presents for his May 4 birthday.
His mother says despite his young age, her son Jaxon is aware of how blessed him and his family are. He knows how lucky he is, and wants to spread positivity and luck to others who might not be as fortunate as he is.
Read more about the little sweetheart here.
Sault volunteer group sews and provides thousands of free masks to public at local grocery stores
Gabi Doleske, Holly Wickett and Karen Marrrocco spearheaded a local campaign in early June to make masks during the battle against COVID-19.
Days for Girls Face Masks, making up 283 volunteers, sewed 4,245 masks and scrub caps, which were donated to healthcare workers locally and as far as Orillia and Marathon. After that, they took on the task of sewing up to 2,000 masks to give away at local grocery stores.
Read more on the mask campaign here.
Another group sewed over 8,000 masks by mid-April through the Million Mask Challenge SSM Facebook group. You can read more about those efforts here.
Twins raise money for their grandmother's double-lung transplant
Kiejah and Nodin Neveau are looking forward to eventually being able to go out for a walk with their grandmother after she receives a long-awaited double-lung transplant.
Their grandmother, Linda Lamirande-Gibbs, headed to Toronto in late November for her double-lung transplant, and the twins decided to help alleviate some of the financial strain associated with awaiting a lung transplant in Toronto by doing a 50/50 draw.
The draw, which was held live on Facebook on Nov. 26, raised over $2,600 in the first week it started.
Read more from SooToday's James Hopkin about the thoughtful twins here.
Big donation helps Habitat for Humanity provide families in need with new, affordable homes
The Sault's GFL Environmental Inc. office stepped up in late-November with a $15,000 donation to Habitat for Humanity, making the organization's 12th Sault build possible.
Tracy Poliquin, her mother Carol-Anne Grisdale and her daughter Riddley Proulx were chosen as Habitat for Humanity Sault Ste. Marie & Area's 12th Habitat Homeowners.
The Nov. 25 cheque presentation to Habitat marked the beginning of GFL’s first local partnership through the Full Circle Project.
Read more about Habitat and GFL's partnership here.
400 Christmas dinners served to those in need
Quattro and GFL teamed up this year to prepare, pack and deliver 400 turkey meals to the Soup Kitchen.
The meals were available for families to pick up on Christmas Eve.
Read more from SooToday's Darren Taylor here.