The goal of this column is to tell stories of ordinary people who do small things that make a difference in their families or communities and thus, hopefully, to inspire readers to realize they too can make a difference by doing small positive things consistently.

This past week, as most often happens; a few small things done by others have impacted me.

On Wednesday I walked to my bank to cash two cheques but when I got there, I only had one. I assumed I had absentmindedly left the other one behind at home, and thought little more about it until later that evening when I did a search of my house with no luck.

I decided to wait 24 hours before reporting it lost, just in case it would turn up in an unsearched corner or pocket; however, early the next day, before I could even think of calling to cancel the cheque, a police officer rang my door bell.

It seems the cheque slipped out of my pocket somewhere downtown and one of our volunteer Nanaimo Ambassadors had found it and turned it in to the police.

Isn't it great that we live in a city where literally hundreds of citizens volunteer each year as "Ambassadors;" volunteers who are there to help our tourists and our citizens? I wonder how many people they have helped over the years.

Also isn't it great that we have a police force that would bother delivering a lost check to your door?

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the "Art Bins" (painted garbage cans) that the South End Community Association has been distributing and maintaining in their community.

A few hours after my cheque was returned, I heard a wonderful story about one of the cans. It seems someone had kicked a dent in it and before it could be repaired by the person who had "adopted" it, the repair was mysteriously accomplished. Obviously the program is working, people do care.

Then the day after I heard the "Art Bin" story, I attended a community meeting following up on the "City Repair" program launched in the late 90s in Portland, Washington. [www.cityrepair.org]

The concept is simple. In fact it is very Hidden Heroes-like. Neighbours come together and agree to tackle small projects that they can manage on their own knowing that when such "seeds" are planted, they tend to grow. And grow the project has. It has spread to communities far and wide and now it's sprouting in Nanaimo -- The meeting was attended primarily from people in the Old City Quarter, South End Community and Nob Hill.

I will attend any future meetings and keep you informed. This group has exciting potential.

By the way I learned at the meeting that it was one of the leaders from the Nob Hill community who had repaired the dented can.