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Reuniting people with mitts and more builds online B.C. community

sa国际传媒楨ven little things make a differencesa国际传媒 says woman running online lost and found
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This tiny stuffy has yet to be reunited with its family, but is drawing a lot of attention and creating community on the Oak Bay Lost & Found Facebook page.(Courtesy Cyndra Townley)

Cyndra Townley is physically incapable of passing by a lonely mitten.

Finding things isnsa国际传媒檛 new to her. Itsa国际传媒檚 actually a bit of a super power.

sa国际传媒淚 once found my mother-in-lawsa国际传媒檚 diamond upside down in the shag rug behind her fridge.sa国际传媒

These days itsa国际传媒檚 primarily cashmere beanies, tiny shoes, dog licence tags and keys.

A lot of keys.

sa国际传媒淭his is stuff that if I lost it it would drive me crazy,sa国际传媒 Townley said.

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She once picked up a tiny bootie in Beacon Hill Park and through the power of social media got it back to the owner sa国际传媒 well the ownersa国际传媒檚 parents. What seemed an inconsequential piece of clothing returned was actually from Denmark, a gift from grandparents and of course part of a pair.

sa国际传媒淚 delivered this bootie in Rockland and this couple was over the moon. That gave me this perspective that even little things make a difference,sa国际传媒 Townley said.

Finding the neighbourhood groups on social media cluttered with home rental listings and quasi-jokes about leaf blowers, Townley created a dedicated page on Facebook called .

There she and the community match up people with a ton of missing keys and mitts, plus the odd plushie.

She marks her latest stuffed animal the most rewarding sa国际传媒 and popular sa国际传媒 find to date.

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sa国际传媒淗e was sticking out of a two-foot-high wet, dirty leaf pile on Beach Drive and hesa国际传媒檚 only three inches high,sa国际传媒 Townley said. sa国际传媒淚 had to go back and get him, it registered in my mind I had passed something. I pictured somebody had chucked this out of a stroller and theresa国际传媒檚 a mum going sa国际传媒榦h my son or daughter lost their favourite sa国际传媒a国际传媒檚a国际传媒

Itsa国际传媒檚 now had a wash and brush with before and after photos posted online, the bear has yet to be reunited with its family.

It also elicited the most heartfelt and copious responses. A back-and-forth of conversation and ideas also plays into the underlying reason Townley started the page.

A Canadian who grew up in war-torn Libya, shesa国际传媒檚 a fan of creating positive community.

sa国际传媒淚 know what a terrible community looks like. Anything I can do to make us feel like a community, Isa国际传媒檒l do it,sa国际传媒 she said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 really rewarding. People can be quite reserved sa国际传媒 itsa国际传媒檚 just a huge icebreaker. That and the block watch.sa国际传媒

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Shortly after moving to Oak Bay three years ago, she joined Block Watch as another way to build community and meet people. Now shesa国际传媒檚 a leader for 60 homes in her neighbourhood. It also morphed into work with the Oak Bay Emergency Preparedness Program.

sa国际传媒淚 need to make this place feel connected to me,sa国际传媒 Townley said.

She figures about one-third of the items listed on the Facebook page wind up returned. She recently successfully retrieved her own lost light-up dog collar.

And Townley has a potential plan for the leftovers.

Already shesa国际传媒檚 envisioning the community connection that might be created with a clothesline of lonely gloves, boots and wayward caps, and an invitation online to let folks know to sa国际传媒渃ome by for the things you lost.sa国际传媒



Christine van Reeuwyk

About the Author: Christine van Reeuwyk

Longtime journalist with the Greater Victoria news team.
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