Since last fall, I have been enjoying sharing
many inspirational stories in the Byron Villager magazine – many of these
stories are also featured in this ‘Be The Change’ section of my webpage. Last December, I asked Barb (the owner of the
magazine) if I could create another column for the magazine and she asked me
what my idea was. I suggested that we
create a column where I would walk around the neighbourhood asking people a
question of the month. I thought that
four interviews would be a good number, making sure that I interviewed two men
and two women. I suggested that we call
this feature “Feet on the Street”. After
a successful trail run, Barb was hooked!
In the early part of this year, Barb was also
able to launch two more community magazines and she asked me if I could create
“Feet on the Street” for the Lambeth Villager, the Hyde Park Villager as well
as the Byron Villager.
It’s been a lot of fun doing all of these
features and I thought that it would also be fun to share some of these short
interviews with you!
The stories that I’ve selected to share fit
perfectly in this section of my webpage because they highlight the many ways
that ordinary people are ‘Being The Change’ in their own community…
December 2015
With
the holiday season fast approaching, I’m always reminded of that age old quote,
“It is better to give than to receive.”
This has inspired me to learn more about how Byron residents – young and
old – work towards helping others during this season…
 | |
| Mark Morrison |
As a local business owner my partner Tammy
Steeper and I like to make contributions to charities throughout the entire
year. We usually donate products from
our store that are then used to help raise funds for these charities. In the past, we’ve contributed to the London’s
Men’s Mission, breast cancer research, The Byron Legion, local public schools,
The Rotary Club and the Liver Foundation, to name just a few charities that
mean a lot to us.
 | |
| Sandra Kogelheide |
I’ve always believed that it’s important to
help others in my community. I don’t
have a lot of things to give, so I volunteer my time instead. For the last few years, I have been helping
out with the Salvation Army’s ‘Christmas Kettle’ program to raise money for
families in need. Sometimes I’ll collect
donations outside of the Liquor Store, but I like it when I’m inside the Metro
the best… it’s a bit warmer!
January 2016
Evolution is about change. Change is about doing something differently
or doing something new. With the entire
2016 year ahead of you, what is one thing that you’ve never done before that
you plan to accomplish?
 | |
| Katelyn Montgomery |
I am looking into becoming a volunteer at the
Sick Children’s Hospital. I want to find
out how I can become involved with these children. I’m hoping that they’ll let me do crafts or read
to the kids. In the past, I was a youth
camp councillor and this really taught me how to connect with children. Getting involved with the hospital seems like
a natural ‘next step’ for me.
 | |
| Menno Meijer |
I have recently begun to organize a group
called Humanitus: a peace organization for youth in London. Humanitus seeks to engage youths in community
work that establishes and nurtures peace in fun and engaging ways.
April 2016
Ahhhhhhhh
– YES! April!! The month where we see flowers and trees
starting to bloom and the joys of Nature are in our hearts. With ‘Earth Week’ just around the corner, I
felt inspired to learn about people’s most profound moments of connecting with
the beauty that surrounds us daily…
 | |
| Claudette Bolduc |
As
often as I can, when the weather is nice, I take my lunch breaks along the
Thames River in Springbank Park. I love
feeling the warmth of the sun and listening to the breezes that blow, rustling
the leaves on the trees. It brings me a
smile to hear the birds chirping and see the geese and ducks flying through the
air. It’s nice to watch joggers and
cyclists go by and I love seeing young mothers out for a stroll pushing baby
carriages. What I like most about this
time is that every day is different.
 | |
| Kayla Hopkins |
Until
a short while ago, I had never traveled outside of the area so my experiences
with Nature have all be rather confined to beautiful sunsets or rainbows, our
surrounding landscapes and the colours of autumn. Then, a friend took me to a resort in the
Bahamas and my understanding of the word ‘beauty’ changed forever! I had never seen the ocean before and I
didn’t realize just how clear and blue it can be. The sands on the beach were so brilliant and
white. Outside my room’s window, I could
look down and see large sea turtles swimming in saltwater pools throughout the
resort. But it was the colours of all
the flowers that really struck me in a positive way. They were so colourful and full of life. The next spring, when all of the flowering
trees and spring flowers were in bloom, it was like I was seeing them for the
first time. I had never noticed how much
colour actually surrounds us, right here in London. These flowers may only bloom for a short
period of time, but that’s what makes this area so unique.
August
2016
Many
years ago, a friend gave me a T-shirt for a birthday present that said,
“Everyday is Earthday!” This is an ideal
that I hold dear to my heart and with this thought in my mind I went searching
for ways that local residents conserve energy during the hottest days of the
summer…
 | |
| Jeff Bain |
I
learned a lot about protecting our environment from my father and I hope that
my children are also learning these same lessons from me. I grew up using hand tools for most gardening
projects and I’ve been using this rotary push mower for almost 20 years. I’m not burning gas or oil and this keeps our
air cleaner. My mower hardly makes a
sound and I’m sure that my neighbours enjoy that fact! It takes a bit more time but the benefits are
worth the extra effort. I like the fact
that I’m not the only one who works hard to keep our air clean. Several of my neighbours also use rotary push
mowers and I’m always hopeful that this will become a growing trend.
 | |
| Kate Brown |
I’m
a vegetarian for two reasons: I love animals… I don’t like the way that factory
farms treat their animals and I like to conserve energy. It takes a huge amount of water to raise farm
animals and very little water – by comparison – to grow vegetables and
grains. In the summer, I’m able to
conserve even more energy by supporting local farmers. My family loves going to Heeman’s to pick
strawberries and on many rides home from work, I’ll stop by the Joyce Farm
market, in Byron, to buy my fruits and veggies.
I think it’s rather silly to buy imported tomatoes from Mexico in the
middle of a Canadian summer.
 | |
| Robbie Hernandez |
My family and I like to keep cool in the summer
and we do this by turning off most lights in our house and pulling the shades
on the windows that get direct sunlight.
We don’t have an air conditioner, so we use a few well placed fans
throughout our house. After a nice rain,
we’ll open our windows to let in some cool breezes.
 | |
| Nicole McLaughlin |
As you can see, my daughters and I like to stay
cool in the summer! Instead of driving
to this splashpad or any other local playgrounds we prefer to walk. Most times, we pack a small picnic that is
filled with a few items that we grow in our vegetable garden. By growing our own food we aren’t supporting
the import of some products from other countries.
 |
| Jack Page |
I’m a professional driver and it gets really
hot on the roads during the summer months.
To save energy, I open all the windows in my vehicle when I start my day
to let the breeze keep me and my passengers cool. Usually, it’s around lunch time before I feel
the need to use the A/C and when I do use it, I keep it at a low setting. I’ve compared my fuel with other drivers who
turn on their A/C very early and it’s surprising to see that I am able to save
around an 1/8 of a tank of fuel, each day!
+ + + +
So be inspired by these stories to realize how
easy it is and how rewarding it is to get involved in your own community! As individuals, we will never be able to
change the world... but as individuals united to learn, teach, volunteer, inspire
and be inspired, there is nothing that can stop us!!
Jim Kogelheide
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