April 3, 2020 · 0 Comments
By Mike Baker
Sometimes all it takes is a single spark to inspire a whole lot of good in a community.
That’s exactly what happened in Orangeville back on March 14, when local resident Melissa Cauley launched a new group ‘Orangeville and Area Caremongerers’ on Facebook. The inspiration, Melissa says, was to take all the negativity and fear surrounding COVID-19 and redirect into something positive.
“Like always, when I find there are people in need, I try to help them out. I just thought that, throughout this pandemic, we needed to have some positive experiences for people, and we needed to provide people with a space where they could ask for things and get things they really need,” Ms. Cauley told the Citizen.
That last part is crucial. In the 12 days since the Caremongering group launched, it has evolved from a messaging board where people would post to keep spirits high, to something that is genuinely making a difference.
In one quick glance on Wednesday morning, there were posts from individuals offering to collect and drop off a variety of items for individuals that are self-isolating, an ongoing commitment from a local business owner (Upjeet Singh of Curry Mantra) to provide meals to residents in need, completely free of charge, and notifications highlighting when hard-to-find items such as toilet paper are available at different stores.
As of press time, the group boasts 2,584 members.
“It has just blown up into this incredible thing. The community atmosphere is amazing. People have really stepped up, willing to lend a hand and help those in our community that need it. This is exactly why I made the group,” Melissa said.
There was some controversy this past weekend, however. In her ongoing attempts to help those in need, Melissa took to making batches of bone broth, which she would deliver to individuals throughout the community. Seeing this, Mayor Sandy Brown expressed his concern, eventually reporting Melissa to the Ministry of Labour.
“I don’t care that it’s free, benevolent and kind. You cannot batch and distribute to the community under any circumstances,” Mayor Brown posted on social media.
Melissa has since stopped distributing soup throughout the community, while the mayor, for his part, apologized for the way his messages were delivered. He went on to commend Ms. Cauley for the work she has done in establishing a new, popular community group.
“These are challenging times, when we need to come together and help where we can, and you have stepped up,” Mayor Brown informed Ms. Cauley. “The Caremongering group efforts show how we as Canadians can be at our finest… Our community is stronger because of the people and the groups we form. Orangeville and Area Caremongering is an example of this.”
When asked, Melissa says she has delivered hundreds upon hundreds of items to people throughout the community over the past two weeks, with several other members of the group jumping on board too.
While maintaining that service, Melissa is using her platform to acknowledge the “every day heroes” who continue to work throughout these challenging times.
“I will be posting about three people every day who are out in our community right now working throughout this crisis. They’re the frontline who are keeping us safe and prepared right now,” Melissa said. “I have nurses, a firefighter, lots of cashiers that I’ll be recognizing. Also people who are going into homes right now to fix phone lines and internet connections. They’re all making a huge difference.”
While she was the one who provided the spark, Melissa says it’s the rest of her new community, now almost 2,600 members strong, who will help to inspire the change she wanted to bring about in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.
“It really does take a village to make a difference,” Melissa said. “While it’s important now to take care of your family, these are the times we need to almost extend our family. To help people when and where we can. We need to remember not to be selfish. To realize, there are other people going through the exact same thing we’re going through too.”