Ross (the Boss) of NDG's Blog

  When we think about helping our community, we often divide people into two groups: those who need help and those who can give help . But perhaps that is the wrong way to look at a neighbourhood. Because every person has something to give. The retired accountant may have an hour to help a young entrepreneur understand a business plan. The teenager who thinks they have little to contribute may be exactly the person who can show an elderly neighbour how to use their phone. The lifelong NDG resident may know stories about our neighbourhood that should never be forgotten. The newcomer may bring traditions, food, music, ideas and perspectives that make our community richer. The person who cannot donate money may be able to donate time. Someone who cannot volunteer physically may be a wonderful listener. A child can draw a picture for someone who is lonely. A restaurant can occasionally provide a meal. A gardener can share tomatoes. A musician can share a song. A tradespe...

  When we talk about transforming a community, our minds naturally turn toward the big things: better services, stronger organizations, new programs, improved housing, safer streets and greater opportunities. But there is another kind of transformation that can begin with a flowerpot. Beauty matters. A planter overflowing with flowers beside an apartment entrance. A neglected patch of earth turned into a tiny garden. A colourful bench. A child's drawing displayed in a shop window. A Little Free Library lovingly painted by neighbours. A balcony filled with geraniums. A clean sidewalk where yesterday there was litter. None of these things will make headlines. Yet collectively, they send a powerful message: Someone cares about this place. And when people sense that someone cares, something interesting happens. They become a little more likely to care too. Imagine if every block in NDG adopted one small place to make beautiful. It might be the patch of soil around a street tr...

  There are many ways to transform a community. We can improve buildings. Plant gardens. Create programs. Help people who are struggling. Build better parks and gathering places. Support local businesses. Find new ways to care for our young people and seniors. But there is another kind of transformation that costs absolutely nothing—and could change thousands of lives. We can become people who encourage one another. Think about how often people hear criticism in the course of an ordinary day. A child is told what they did wrong. An employee hears about the mistake they made. A teenager is reminded of what they haven't accomplished. A parent wonders whether they're doing a good enough job. A senior may quietly wonder whether they still matter. Someone struggling to rebuild their life may begin believing that nobody expects very much from them anymore. What would happen if NDG became different? What if we became known as a neighbourhood where people deliberately looke...

  Another Thought on Transforming NDG — and Creating A NuVo World Over the past several days, I have been doing a lot more walking around my neighbourhood. And something has struck me. There are dogs everywhere! Big dogs. Little dogs. Old dogs moving slowly beside their people. Puppies trying to investigate every tree, blade of grass and passing stranger. Dogs walking proudly down the sidewalk as though they own NDG — and perhaps, in their minds, they do! But what has interested me even more than the dogs are the people at the other end of the leash. Again and again, a dog has provided the introduction. “What's his name?” “How old is she?” “What kind of dog is that?” And suddenly two strangers aren't strangers anymore. We're talking. We're smiling. We're learning one another's names. We're becoming neighbours. And that has made me think about something I have believed for a very long time: I believe that, wherever circumstances make it possible, every househ...

Dear Friends, I have begun a new series of messages that is very close to my heart:  Transforming NDG — Into A NuVo World. For years, I have been thinking, writing and dreaming about a different kind of world — a world in which people know their neighbours, look out for one another, help those who are struggling, care for their communities, and rediscover the extraordinary power of simple human kindness. Now, rather than merely talking about that world, I want to help  create it — beginning right here in NDG. And that is what this new series is about. Some of the ideas I will share will be ambitious. Others will be wonderfully simple. One day's message might be about bringing neighbours together or helping someone who is struggling. Another might simply encourage us to smile at a stranger, say hello to someone we normally pass without acknowledging, spend some time in a local park, or introduce ourselves to a neighbour we've seen a hundred times but have never actually met. Be...

  One of the great ironies of modern life is that we can communicate instantly with someone thousands of kilometres away—and yet sometimes know almost nothing about the person living three doors down. We are busy. We have appointments, errands, responsibilities, phones buzzing and places to be. Without intending to, we can begin moving through our neighbourhood as though everyone around us is simply part of the scenery. But what if we changed that? What if we introduced something wonderfully simple into NDG: the five-minute neighbourhood ? Not five minutes of volunteering. Not another committee. Not another meeting. Just five minutes occasionally given to another human being. Five minutes sitting beside the senior who is watching the world go by from a bench. Five minutes talking with the person who walks the same dog past your house every morning. Five minutes listening to the teenager working behind the counter at the local store. Five minutes welcoming someone who has r...