Good Turn Week challenges Canadians to do a “Good Turn” for a friend, family member, neighbour, or the community, and encourages the recipient to pay it forward. This pay it forward type initiative is running  from April 29 – May 7, 2017 across Canada.

The Scouts website says “a good turn is defined simply as an act of kindness provided without expectation for compensation or recognition. This can be as small as buying the cup of coffee for the person behind you in line to creating a large community project that looks to impact your community in a big way. A simple gesture of kindness can be as easy as giving up your seat on the bus or helping a neighbour carry their groceries, or as ambitious as organizing a clean-up of a local park. 
One good deed is all it takes to make a difference and inspire others, creating a cycle of goodwill that will spread across Canada!  
Through these acts of kindness, we can promote a better sense of community, friendship and compassion around the world.”
Sounds pretty wonderful to us!

How is Mississauga getting involved?
The 1st Sandalwood Cub Scouts are holding a knit-a-thon to fashion 100 scarves to be distributed to homeless individuals at local shelters. The group is encouraging knitting enthusiasts to join them to help exceed their goal.
Additionally, Scouts from across the GTA are launching Hand in Hand, a campaign to support the more than 550 youth annually who seek shelter and aid at Our Peel Place – a youth homeless shelter. The Scouts aim to educate other youth about youth homelessness, while collecting donations of fundamental care items for those who use the shelter.

If you’re so inclined, you can share your “Good Turns” at Scouts.ca/goodturnweek, or on social media by using #GoodTurnWeek and by tagging @ScoutsCanada.

While this certainly is a great way to engage with your community, remember, you can do random acts of kindness, good turns and pay it forward any and every day of the year.

To learn more about Good Turn Week and to participate, visit www.scouts.ca/goodturn