Two hundred dollars feels small. A hundred women giving two hundred dollars at once turns into something else entirely.

That's the idea behind Ripple of Kindness Orillia, the women's giving circle Ashley Lehmann and Amber McGarvey-Moreland co-direct. In this conversation they talk about how a simple act of kindness, pooled together and repeated, has sent more than $300,000 to local charities. We get into what kindness actually means to them, why Amber brought a chapter home to Orillia, and the moments that have stayed with them. The very first donation funded a palliative care bed at Mariposa House Hospice. The Salvation Army gift brought one of them full circle, back to the Christmas hampers her own family once relied on.

It's a conversation about how giving can reshape a community, and how the small things really do add up.

Ripple of Kindness Orillia

Website: https://rippleofkindness.ca/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rippleofkindnessorillia/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Ripple-Of-Kindness-Orillia-100070948456356/

Who are we

Behind the Village is a podcast about how to live a life worth living. Real conversations about mental health, personal growth, and finding fulfillment.

Follow Us

Website: https://villagermagazine.ca/podcast/

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/behind-the-village-podcast/id1763310022

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/11fe4qRCPB22ybBg2wDznK

Newsletter: https://villagermagazine.ca/subscribe/

Chapters

0:00 Intro

2:20 What Kindness and Philanthropy Mean to Them

5:26 A Community of Women, Ages 18 to 90

8:44 The Hospice Bed Their First Gift Built

11:58 Full Circle With the Salvation Army

13:54 How to Join the Giving Circle

17:24 A Thank You to Every Member

Zach Dunn has interviewed over 165 veterans from 17 allied countries, and he does it all with an iPhone, a $30 tripod, and a $10 mic. It started when he found his grandfather's war medals in a box in his parents' basement. Now it's a race against time.

In this episode, Zach talks about what it takes to preserve the stories of WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War veterans before they're gone. He shares how some veterans carried their experiences in silence for 50 to 80 years before opening up for the first time. He talks about the healing that happens when someone finally asks. And he makes a case for something simple but powerful: be curious, ask questions, and listen well. You never know what story is waiting to be told.

Zach Dunn / Global Veteran Stories

Website: https://www.rememberingcanadasveterans.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GlobalVeteranStories

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ww2veteraninterviews

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Global-Veteran-Stories-by-Zach-Dunn/61568304669684/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/globalveteranstoriesbyzachdunn/

Who are we

Behind the Village is a podcast about how to live a life worth living. Real conversations about mental health, personal growth, and finding fulfillment.

Follow Us

Website: https://villagermagazine.ca/podcast/

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/behind-the-village-podcast/id1763310022

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/11fe4qRCPB22ybBg2wDznK

Newsletter: https://villagermagazine.ca/subscribe/

Chapters

00:29 How a box of medals started everything

03:51 Why so many veteran stories go untold

06:27 Finding veterans across the world

10:42 A one-man documentary setup

12:41 The emotional weight of these conversations

17:29 What gets lost when stories aren't shared

Carmine De Santo bought his first comic book in 1978. By 16, he'd opened his own shop. Four decades later, he's still in the game, running Dr. Comics in Orillia and organizing comic cons across North America.

In this conversation, Carmine walks us through the world of rare comics and collectibles. He talks about buying a Batman #1 at 18 and selling it for $90,000 (it's now worth $3.5 million), why the collectibles market exploded after the pandemic, and what it was like losing $850,000 worth of inventory in a fire that destroyed his downtown Orillia shop.

He also shares the story of the Tim Maple collection, one of the most fascinating pieces of comic book history you've probably never heard of.

Whether you're deep into collecting or just curious about where to start, this one's worth your time.

Dr. Comics

Website: https://www.drcomics.ca/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1drcomics/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drcomics/

Who are we

Behind the Village is a podcast about how to live a life worth living. Real conversations about mental health, personal growth, and finding fulfillment.

Follow Us

Website: https://villagermagazine.ca/podcast/

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/behind-the-village-podcast/id1763310022

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/11fe4qRCPB22ybBg2wDznK

Newsletter: https://villagermagazine.ca/subscribe/

Chapters

0:00 How Carmine fell in love with comic books

2:48 Rare finds and million-dollar regrets

4:09 Why the collectibles market is booming

7:33 Losing everything in a fire

11:18 The legendary Tim Maple collection

13:17 How to start collecting

17:19 Comic cons, anime fests, and what's trending