John’s Story
Meet John, a retired teacher and senior in our community who volunteers at our food bank and is on our care team. Together with his wife, Elizabeth, they’ve welcomed individuals new to Canada looking for a place to stay with them in their homes. John truly enjoys helping others however he can. Whether that’s through little tasks like fixing locks, cupboards, or even helping individuals get settled in when moving. He enjoys making things work well and connecting with people, so he’s found ways to use his skill set to do exactly that.
Throughout his life, a common theme that John has realized is that the solution to many things is community. He says, “All kinds of needs that we have can be met by developing more and more connections among us.” John elaborates that he thinks of community “as horizontal… that’s what community is, right? It’s not seeing people in a hierarchy, but in a network” (John Sherk, 2024). Through moments of practical help, John has been able to grow, support, and learn others’ stories by spending intentional time with people in his community. He enjoys seeing others win, and if he can help them along their journey in any way, he tries his best to do it.
Sometimes, what may seem like a small act of love can have a highly significant impact on people’s lives. Years later, John had individuals he’d helped in his past remind him of pieces of advice or concepts they’d discussed, sticking with them throughout their lives!
John concluded with this, “When you allow yourself to be connected with a network of people, you just don’t know what’s going to happen… whatever level of fear you have, try to overcome it… the benefits in connecting with people are tremendous” (John Sherk, 2024).
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