One day in her hometown in Newcastle, Ontario, Danielle MacDuff saw a homeless man, Brian Bannister. The man was just outside a drugstore, he was reading a book and collecting changes from passersby.
As fate would have it, she decided to engage in a conversation with him that took approximately 25 minutes. Out of nowhere after their chat, she asked Bannister if he’d like to work on her farm the very next day.
“It floored me. It just came from the heart with her and I got to thank her every day,” said the overwhelmed man.
The 60-year-old homeless man was surviving day in and out by living in a shed. Especially during these trying times, Bannister was barely surviving his everyday life.
He fought through his addiction, survived abuse, and lost two wives – one died in a crash and the other succumbed to cancer.
For the past two years, Bannister’s life reached rock bottom, he was hopeless and was about to give in to his unending problems. For him, MacDuff’s employment was nothing short of like hitting the lottery.
At the farm, MacDuff, Bannister, and the other staff clean animal stalls, haul hay, and take care of 200 farm animals like cows, goats, horses, and even dogs.
They all work in shifting schedules because it takes an entire day to do all the tasks at the farm. To avoid being overworked, everyone is given a decent amount of time to rest in the middle of the day.
Apart from the spontaneous yet generous employment offer, MacDuff also drives Bannister back and forth in town.
“He’s so kind, compassionate, he’s amazing with my children, my animals. And his willingness to help me on the farm is very, very much appreciated,” she shared.
But the kindhearted woman didn’t stop there, she also got Bannister his first haircut and shave in two years. MacDuff also provided her new senior friend a phone and facilitated access to some provincial financial support.
More blessings!
To help Bannister even more, MacDuff created a GoFundMe page to raise more funds to help the old guy. As of this writing, it has already raised $10,940 CAD of its $5,000 goal.
They are also now working on getting him a permanent place so he doesn’t need to go back to living in the shed.
While the blessings are all coming down to Bannister, MacDuff also has something to take away from this experience.
She said, “He has no idea what this has done for me. If we could get everyone off the street ideally that would be my one wish, but it takes a lot of people to come together and that is what has happened for Brian. I think that’s why we’ve come so far in such a short time.”
A simple act of kindness can really go a long way and it creates a domino effect.
This world needs more people like MacDuff.
Watch the video below to know more about this beautiful story.
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@ctvnewstoronto 60-year-old Brian Bannister was unhoused, overcame addiction, survived abuse and lost two wives, one in a crash, the other to cancer. Over the past two years, he says he gave up. But then he met Danielle McDuff in Newcastle, Ontario, who did more than just offer him a job on her farm. She also got him his first haircut in two years, a phone, access to government supports and an a rare camaraderie made possible through selfless acts of kindness. #ctvnews #ctvnewstoronto #toronto #ctvtoronto #news #explore #foryou #fyp #ontario #canada #gta #newcastle #farm #homeless #unhoused #actsofkindness #goodsamaritan #canadiankindness #goodnews #goodnewsstory #goodnewstiktok #newstiktok #kindnessmatters #actsofservice #homelessness #goodpeople #gooddeeds #canadiantiktok ♬ original sound – ctvnewstoronto
