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Your Squad Needs Your Spark

Community is built in the small moments where you choose someone else's win over your ego.
Jamie Bell 18 Feb 2026
Your Squad Needs Your Spark

Building a stronger community culture through volunteerism during National Kindness Week 2026.

We all have that one friend who is the glue of the group—the one who always knows what’s up and makes sure everyone is included. But what if we all decided to be that person for our entire community? Imagine the shift in energy if we all treated our neighbors, coworkers, and local strangers like they were part of our inner circle. That is the vibe we are chasing for National Kindness Week 2026. It is about expanding your definition of ‘squad’ to include everyone from coast to coast to coast. When we look out for each other, everybody wins. No one gets left behind.

This week is the perfect time to find a way to volunteer that actually fits your vibe. It doesn’t have to be boring or feel like a chore. Love animals? Go help out at a shelter. Into tech? Mentor someone who is trying to learn. The point is to take the skills you already have and use them to light up someone else’s world. Rabbi Reuven Bulka, the founder of Kind Canada, knew that kindness was the ultimate connector. He spent his life showing us that when we give, we actually receive so much more in return. It’s about that shared human experience that you just can’t get from a screen.

When you volunteer, you aren’t just ‘helping.’ You are building social capital. You are creating a safety net for when things get tough. You are showing the world that you care about something bigger than your own feed. That kind of confidence is infectious. People see you doing the work, and they want to be a part of it too. You become a leader just by showing up and being kind. That is how we change the culture—one act, one person, and one community at a time. It’s a total power move to be the person who cares.

Let’s finish this week strong. Find an organization, join a local project, or just gather your friends and go do something good for the neighborhood. Use National Kindness Week 2026 as your launchpad for a year of being more intentional. This isn’t just a seven-day thing; it’s a lifestyle shift. You have a spark that the world needs right now. Don’t dim it just because everyone else is being quiet. Shine bright, be kind, and let’s show everyone how much of a difference we can actually make when we move as one.

Celebrating National Kindness Week 2026

National Kindness Week in Canada was established through Bill S-223, the Kindness Week Act, a private member’s bill introduced by Senator Jim Munson. The bill received Royal Assent on June 3, 2021, officially designating the third week of February as National Kindness Week across Canada. Inspired by the late Rabbi Reuven Bulka—founder of Kind Canada and a lifelong advocate for compassion and civic responsibility—the first Kindness Week began in Ottawa 18 years earlier. With the passage of this legislation, Canada became the first country in the world to formally recognize a National Kindness Week in law.

National Kindness Week is a coast-to-coast-to-coast celebration of kindness, volunteerism, generosity, mental health awareness, and community leadership. The week encourages individuals, schools, workplaces, nonprofits, and businesses to practice intentional acts of kindness, support charitable initiatives, and strengthen community well-being. It also serves as a national platform to share resources, stories, and tools that promote empathy, inclusion, dignity, and positive social impact.

Each February, Canadians are invited to recognize and amplify everyday acts of compassion—whether through volunteering, supporting local organizations, mentoring youth, helping neighbours, or launching workplace kindness initiatives. By fostering a culture of kindness, we help build stronger communities and reinforce values that define the Canadian spirit.

Join the movement this February and share how your organization, school, or community is celebrating National Kindness Week in Canada. Discover more motivational short stories and community reflections from Art Borups Corners.

About the Author

Jamie Bell

Jamie Bell

Administrator

Jamie Bell is a Winnipeg-based interdisciplinary artist and strategist working at the intersection of media arts, community engagement, and public affairs. Among others, his work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council, and the OpenAI Researcher Access Program, with a focus on participatory media, strategic communications, and arts-based collaboration across northern and urban contexts.

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Tags: Manitoba Northwestern Ontario Arts Winnipeg

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MANITOBA ARTS PROGRAMS

This platform, our Winnipeg, Manitoba hub and programs have been made possible with support from the Manitoba Arts Council Indigenous 360 Program. We gratefully acknowledge their funding and support in making the work we do possible.

Manitoba Arts Council Indigenous 360 Program

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Arts Incubator was seeded and piloted with strategic arts innovation funding from the Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse. We thank them for their investment, supporting northern arts capacity building and bringing the arts to life.

Canada Council for the Arts Digital Greenhouse Logo

NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO ARTS

This platform, our Northwestern Ontario hub and programs have been made possible with support from the Ontario Arts Council Multi and Inter-Arts Projects Program. We gratefully acknowledge their funding and support in making the work we do possible.

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