Behind the bot is Dayi Lin, a 28-year-old computer scientist who also lives in the area. His bot quickly amassed a following of a few hundred people within days of its creation and with no advertisement on Lin’s part — a testament to how residents in downtown east and west, where rates of COVID-19 are high, continue to exhaust every option available in order to secure a vaccine in the absence of a centralized, provincial booking system.

See contest rules below:
1. To enter for the grand prizes support at least three of the participating restaurants by ordering takeout or visiting their outdoor patio.
2. Post your food/drink item while tagging both @empireprovisions and the restaurant. Use the tag #YYCRestoBingo. Each tag counts as one entry. BINGO (5 posts) will get an automatic $20 GC from Empire Provisions and count as ten entries into the grand prize draw.
3. Participants need to be following the restaurants they are tagging to qualify. The hashtag #YYCRestoBingo must be used to be entered as we are using it to track the entries.
4. Participants must be 18+ to play.

Use the app to collect points, then redeem those points for discounts at locally-owned businesses. For instance, 50 points gets you $5 off your next purchase of $20 or more at the Dutch Bakery & Diner.

The virtual discovery page shares ways to support local businesses, farmers and growers, and charities through new digital ways.

“We’re more than just some reading material,” said Troy Myers, chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries. “So we want to do what we can to make sure those social connections are maintained.”

It can be tough to teach proper hand washing to kids. So the library put together a thread of kids books as hand soaps.

The City of Calgary, together with local partners, has created a “buy local” campaign to support local business. #SupportLocalYYC, is creating connections, sharing resources and tools, and highlighting positive stories to inspire the community and spark further innovations that can benefit those in need.

A new initiative has been created to help larger brands use their influence and social followings to lend support to small businesses. Small businesses impacted by the crisis are being asked to add the hashtag “#LikeALocal” to an Instagram post to signal that they are willing to participate. Big brands search the hashtag on Instagram or by using one of their social listening tools to find a local business they’d like to support, reposting their post and explaining why. From there, the brands are encouraged to get in touch with the small business directly to find out if there are other forms of media they might be able to donate.

Urban Mind’s Instagram (@urbanmindsTO) and Ryerson’s Twitter (@RYSURP) have put up themes such as weird things about the city, things we miss about it while in isolation, and a challenge to build a DIY CN Tower. Go to either platform to catch up, and check the #10veyourcity hashtag

The website rallyforrestaurants.ca is a platform to purchase gift cards to use at restaurants once they reopen.

An event page on the town’s Facebook page provided residents with a list of 25 ways to celebrate. Some of the suggestions included baking a birthday cake, decorating front windows with birthday messages and decorations, and writing a song, poem or fictional short story about Stratford.

Future Cities Canada, with content partner Future of Good, is exploring how cities and communities across the country are adapting with innovation and how they are resilient to unprecedented change.

Looking to build a community of people who are looking to support local businesses during the COVID-19 Pandemic (@loveforlocal)

The Toronto Bike Brigade calls for volunteer bicycle riders in Toronto to help deliver goods to people unable to leave their homes

Highlighting how veterans are connecting to socialize, provide for those in need and support service needs

The initiative gives Veterans a chance to meet for coffee in a supportive setting, to socialize. With the new restrictions in place across the country, locations have moved their meetings online. Recently an online “Buddy Check Coffee” involved veterans serving from all over the globe calling in

Prepared by Dale Mugford, who works at Yeeboo Digital in Prince Edward County, the website is updated daily, directly from the business community and with partnership between local organizations

EUROCITIES has activated a Twitter feed to consolidate and exchange information among its membership network, comprised of elected representatives of major European cities.

Updates and links to resources on Parkdale’s mutal aid network and neighbourhood pod. Posted by Parkdale Community Economic Development (PCED), a project of the Parkdale People’s Economy led by over 30 community-based organizations and community residents to build decent work, shared wealth, and equitable development in Parkdale.

ORA Loss and Living Program is hosting a weekly online space for conversation about the grief and loss associated with coronavirus/COVID-19, including the impacts of social distancing, self-isolation and quarantine.

Many grassroots groups have come together with the shared goal of organizing to ensure vulnerable community members have access to food, housing, healthcare, and other necessities. They’re also redistributing resources in case stockpiling prevents people from accessing basics. Amara Possian, community organizer and professor, started a Google Doc that lists those community response networks across Canada by province.