When Tracy Hubbard found out about the Buy-Nothing Project on Facebook, she decided it was something Kingston needed.
She became the administrator and the Buy Nothing Project Kingston-West was born.
“It goes back to the days when my grandparents were alive and they talked to their neighbours and said, ‘I have too many tomatoes or too many cucumbers, would you like some?” Hubbard said.
The Facebook group is a place to gift things you no longer need, such as toys, books, clothes, even a toilet. It’s also a place to express needs.
“We had a member who had to move suddenly and so as the admin team we posted for her and we gave off a list of what she needed and on moving day she had everything she needed to start a brand new apartment, a brand new life,” Hubbard said.
The groups are hyper-local and in Kingston alone, there are three: Kingston West, Central, and East.
The idea started in Washington with two founding members and quickly grew.
“We are on six continents, in over 100 countries with over 4 million members,” said Sherose Bodruddin, a member of the global movement of the Buy-Nothing Project.
The stories of kindness within the group are endless: A gift of a cassette player so a woman could hear the voice of her birth father she had never met, the gift of meal kits to a family unable to get to the grocery store and people even banding together collecting items for Northern Beginnings — a charity that ships baby goods to Iqaluit.
“The community has really turned out. So far we’ve shipped 14 boxes just from our small community here in Kingston,” said Amelie Brack, a Kingston resident, member of the local buy-nothing and participant with Northern Beginnings.
The feel-good stories continue. The gift of a ramp for a senior dog and the gift of homemade pies for a family’s thanksgiving.
“Even through the darkest and worst days when people aren’t kind,” Hubbard said. “There is a whole circle of kindness out there-you just have to look for it.”
Buy nothing founders say the movement is catching on so well that no matter where you are in Canada, there is probably one in your community already.
Now, they hope to launch an app in the coming months, making the generosity of neighbours even more accessible.