St. John's Communauté Nouvelles

Teresa Shaver used to sew about once a week. Now she does it every day to help fight the spread of COVID-19. The Oshawa, Ont., woman is one of the founding members and co-ordinators of Canada Sews, a volunteer organization that's making homemade masks for Canadian health-care facilities and communities.

I often think that I don't have very much, but an experience this weekend has reminded me of the abundance around me, and how vulnerable some people in our very midst are — especially when a blizzard drops upon us and turns us all into shut-ins. Right after the Jan. 17 blizzard, many of us were able to dig out, or we had friends and family who could help. The army came to extend a hand.

A Memorial University alumna and current student have been honoured for their efforts to make a difference in their communities.

Wall went missing during the storm on Friday in the Roaches Line area. Wall’s cousin, Katelynn Hamlyn, says they are getting volunteers together to continue the search now that the police dogs cannot be affected by scent. Their volunteer efforts will begin on Thursday.

It's been a decade since Amanda Young visited Australia, but she felt compelled to help after seeing the fire-ravaged images and hearing about the hundred of millions of dead animals — and so she turned to her sewing machine to help. Young is one of a dozen people in the Corner Brook area making joey pouches for Australia's injured and orphaned animals. They are used to hold baby kangaroos, called joeys, and other marsupials like a mother's pouch.

A globally successful charity calendar featuring burly men dressed in sparkly mermaid tails has printed its last edition. The Newfoundland and Labrador Beard and Moustache Club says the 2020 MerB'ys calendar will be its last, after the group raised over half a million dollars for local charities since 2017.