Nova Scotia·Year in Review

Nova Scotians showed their kindness this year. Here are 6 stories to prove it

From knitting blankets for the less fortunate to saving someone who fell into an open manhole, Nova Scotians showed their kindness in 2024.

A look at the people who made it a year to remember

Students are shown with their teacher holding up red hearts they have made as part of a project to honour firefighters who responded to the wildfires.
Back in May, Shelburne Regional High school students made 64 wooden hearts as a way to pay tribute to firefighters and volunteers who helped during the wildfires last year. (Gareth Hampshire/CBC)

From knitting blankets for the less fortunate to saving someone who fell into a manhole, Nova Scotians showed their kindness this year.

So as 2024 draws to a close, CBC Nova Scotia is looking back at some memorable moments.

Here are six examples of Nova Scotians being kind this year.

How 19 years of knitting led to 500 blankets

19 years and 500 blankets. These knitters love helping anyone in need

8 months ago
Duration 1:50
A group of seniors at the Melville Heights retirement home in Halifax have gotten together every week for almost 20 years to knit blankets for the less fortunate. As the CBC's Paul Palmeter reports, they're on the verge of hitting a big milestone.

A group of seniors at the Melville Heights retirement home in Halifax have been getting together every week for almost 20 years to knit blankets for the less fortunate.

As Paul Palmeter reported back in April, they were on the verge of hitting a big milestone.

Shelburne students create tribute to honour firefighters

Students to honour N.S. firefighters, volunteers with art display

7 months ago
Duration 2:21
High school students in Shelburne, N.S., are creating a tribute to honour firefighters and volunteers who responded to wildfires last year. They're cutting and painting wooden hearts that will be installed in a local park. The CBC's Gareth Hampshire reports.

Back in May, high school students in Shelburne, N.S., created a tribute of red wooden hearts to thank firefighters and volunteers who responded to wildfires last year.

As Gareth Hampshire reported, the wooden hearts were installed at a local park for all to enjoy.

Read the full story here.

These volunteers are feeding hungry kids on weekends

N.S. volunteers help feed students in need on weekends

29 days ago
Duration 2:36
Many students in Nova Scotia rely on getting their breakfast and lunch at school, but it's not always guaranteed they'll have something to eat on the weekends. As Celina Aalders reports, local volunteers are stepping up to change that.

Many students in Nova Scotia rely on getting their breakfast and lunch at school, but it's not always guaranteed they'll have something to eat on the weekends.

As Celina Aalders reported in November, volunteers around the province have been stepping up to change that.

Read the full story here.

He was swallowed by a manhole. But then an 'angel' came along

'I'm not going to die here,' says 71-year-old swallowed by manhole

10 months ago
Duration 5:44
Dan Webb was walking his dog, Chance, near the Canada Games Centre in Halifax after last week's snowstorm. The next thing he knew, he was falling into a partially uncovered manhole. A woman heard his cries for help and called 911. The city says the manhole has since been secured.

Dan Webb was walking his dog, Chance, near the Canada Games Centre in Halifax back in February when he fell into a partially uncovered manhole.

Soaking wet and too far down to get himself out, Webb was rescued by Colleen Paschal, who was passing by and heard his cries for help.

"Something aligned the proper way for her to come over and be inquisitive enough to see what was going on," Webb said. "We're going to be friends for life."

They're creating affordable housing for seniors — in an old church

Kempt Shore church now housing for seniors

1 month ago
Duration 4:56
Jeremy and Andrea Parker bought the church as a way to help seniors in the area cope with the housing crisis. As Jane Sponagle reports, the church holds special meaning for the couple.

Last fall, Jeremy and Andrea Parker bought a church in Kempt Shore, N.S.

Their goal? To create affordable units for seniors as a way to cope with the housing crisis.

As Jane Sponagle reported in November, the church is expected to welcome its first residents by late winter.

She needed a kidney transplant, but her potential donors needed a doctor. So this doctor stepped up

Two women sit side-by-side and smile at the camera.
Geri Mendes, left, and Casey Jones, right, received good news after struggling to get Jones tested as a kidney donor match for Mendes. (Submitted by Geri Mendes)

In October, a Halifax doctor stepped up to help a local woman who's been stuck in limbo when it comes to getting a kidney transplant.

Geri Mendes has end-stage kidney disease, and even though her family and friends wanted to donate, they were told they must have a family doctor or a nurse practitioner for follow-up care.

After Mendes and her longtime friend, Casey Jones, shared their frustrations on CBC Radio's Information Morning Halifax, a doctor called Mendes offering to help.

"Isn't this what Nova Scotians do when we hear someone's in trouble?" said Dr. Maria Alexiadis, chief of the department of family medicine in Nova Scotia Health's central zone. "We try to reach out to help."

Mendes's situation has since prompted Nova Scotia Health to create a formal process to ensure matched organ donors can move forward with the process without a family physician or practitioner.

Read the full story here.

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