Latest / Neighbourly: Real Stories of Care and Community / Six Tales of Christmas | The Case of the Mic Drop

Transcript

Six Tales of Christmas | The Case of the Mic Drop · Neighbourly: Real Stories of Care and Community

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  This is Journey with Care, official podcast of Care
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  Impact. Johan here, and today, I will be your
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  guide. Welcome to the special series of Care Impact
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  Christmas, where we celebrate the joy of the Christmas season.
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  As the snow falls outside and the warmth of the holiday spirit fills
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  our hearts, we invite you to gather your closest loved ones,
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  your kids, grandkids, friends, or family. Get
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  cozy by the fire or snuggle up with a blanket and a cup of hot
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  cocoa and get ready for something truly special.
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  Today, we invite you to journey with us through a series of short stories that
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  capture the essence of Christmas. These tales are filled with
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  warmth, care, and loving generosity.
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  So take a sip of that rich hot cocoa, nestle into your
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  favorite spot, and let the glow of the firelight or simply of your
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  Bluetooth speaker bring our stories to life.
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  Welcome back to our 6 tales of Christmas. This
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  is no ordinary holiday story. It's a mic drop moment that
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  echoes far beyond the season. Join us
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  as we meet listening mic, a microphone tuned to amplify
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  untold stories, turning brave whispers into transformation.
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  From silent struggles to courageous life journeys. These moments
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  show the power of one voice to inspire change. So
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  open up your hearts, turn up the volume, and get ready
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  for the case of the mic drop.
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  Amid the twinkling lights and bustling festivities, there
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  stood a mysterious installation like no other, a
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  cozy, warmly lit booth, blanketed in
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  snowflakes and adorned in holly. Let's step
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  closer, shall we, and have a look. There it is, a shiny microphone sitting poised
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  and ready with anticipation.
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  Microphone with a gift for hearing people's stories and helping others
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  listen up with empathy and greater understanding.
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  One thing you need to know about Listening Mike is that he was notorious for
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  doing something peculiar. Every time a person spoke a
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  poignant truth or heart softening story into his foamy
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  head, he simply couldn't stand there. Listening Mike would
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  suddenly drop. And when
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  listeners heard the mic drop, it echoed throughout the land, and
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  something peculiar would happen with them too. Yes. With
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  every mic drop, they felt waves of empathy they'd never felt
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  before, shocks of truth they've never experienced, and their
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  vision somehow became clearer and clearer with every mic drop moment.
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  Word had spread about listening mic. The more people spoke into
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  it, the more they felt heard by others. And the more people
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  listened, the more hearts and minds were increasingly becoming
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  compassionate and wise.
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  On Christmas Eve, as the town bustled with festive cheer,
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  listening Mike stood patiently in his booth, its golden
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  diaphragm thrumming with anticipation. It
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  listened to the distant sounds of laughter, carols, and
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  chatter, yearning to capture those untold stories.
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  Suddenly, a hush fell over the booth as a small figure emerged from the
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  crowd, glancing and listening Mike's direction. A
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  tired single mother named Sarah stepped into the booth, her
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  eyes filled with weariness and worry.
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  She hesitated before listening to Mike, intimidated by its silent
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  presence. Who would wanna listen to my
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  story? She wondered, her heart heavy with the weight of
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  her responsibilities. Listening, Mike softly
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  whispered, your story matters.
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  So Sarah took a deep breath and began to speak.
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  Her voice trembling at first, then gaining strength as she shared her
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  experiences. Listening Mike listened intently,
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  its golden diaphragm sending the story out into the streets.
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  Sara's story flowed through listening mic, out into the community,
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  reaching the ears of those who had never considered the struggles of a single
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  mother. And then it happened.
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  The mic dropped to the ground and the people's hearts softened.
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  Eyes opened and a wave of empathy swept through the town.
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  People began to see the single parents in their lives in a new light,
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  recognizing the immense challenges they faced and the incredible resilience
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  they demonstrated. A community wide initiative was
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  launched to provide support for single parent families, offering
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  child care services, financial aid, and emotional support
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  groups.
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  The next person to approach Listening Mike was a young man named
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  Alex, a child who had aged out of the foster care system.
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  He had felt invisible for so long, his story of trauma and racism lost in
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  the echoes of a broken system and a busy town. Racism lost in
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  the echoes of a broken system and a busy town. Who would care about the
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  story of a kid like me? He thought, feeling a familiar pang of loneliness. But
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  as he stood before listening Mike, a sense of
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  empowerment washed over him. He spoke of his experiences,
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  over him. He spoke of his experiences,
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  his voice filled with both pain and resilience.
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  And then it happened.
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  The mic dropped to the ground. Alex's story
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  resonated throughout the community, shattering stereotypes and
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  preconceived notions. People began to see him not as a
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  statistic, but as a human being with a story to tell,
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  transforming indifference into understanding. The community
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  rallied around its youth, establishing mentorship programs,
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  offering job training opportunities, and creating safe spaces for young
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  people to connect and thrive.
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  And then came an exhausted social worker named Emily stepping
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  into the booth, her spirit weary from the weight of her
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  caseload. She had witnessed so much pain, so
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  many struggles that she nearly lost all hope. Who
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  would have the time and energy to listen to my tired voice, she
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  wondered, her shoulders slumping with the weight of the world.
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  But as she stood before listening mic, a spark reignited
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  within her. She shared her experiences,
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  her voice filled with both compassion and frustration.
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  And then it happened.
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  The mic dropped to the ground. Emily's story
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  echoed through the community, reminding people of the tireless efforts of those who
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  work on the front lines of social services. It
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  sparked a conversation about the need for greater support, for
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  systematic change, for a more compassionate approach to those in
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  need. The community responded by organizing volunteer
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  programs, donating resources to social service agencies,
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  and advocating for policies that would better support those who dedicated their lives to helping
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  others.
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  Named John who apprehensively eyed the booth and was inching his
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  way closer. Would he dare speak out
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  loud about his struggles and experiences? He was a
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  churchgoing man, and this was not something he was accustomed to comfortably
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  sharing within the faith community. He'd been carrying his
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  pain for years, and yet God had been at work.
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  What would others think, or could this be the invitation he'd been waiting
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  for? But as he stood before listening Mike,
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  a sense of liberation washed over him. He
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  spoke of his struggles and experiences, his voice filled with
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  both vulnerability and strength. And then it happened.
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  The mic dropped to the ground. John's story touched the
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  hearts of the community, breaking down stigmas and fostering
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  deeper understanding about god. Others began to reach out to
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  offer support, to share their own stories of healing and talk about faith
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  matters not often talked about from the pulpit. The microphone had
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  become a beacon of hope, illuminating conversations just waiting
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  to burst throughout the faith community. Churches were becoming
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  safer places to speak up. Programs and services
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  were changing, and people were finding healing and recovery.
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  A stillness fell over the town square after each mic drop
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  moment continued to echo across the land. The echoes
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  of Sarah's struggle, Alex's resilience, Emily's weariness, and John's pain hung in the air, mingling
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  with the twinkling pain hung in the air, mingling
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  with the twinkling Christmas lights. It was as if the entire community held its breath,
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  collectively bearing witness to the vulnerability and strength woven into their words.
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  Something was shifting. Hearts were opening,
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  perspectives broadening, and a newfound sense of unity was
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  emerging. Listening Mike now stood as a symbol
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  of shared humanity, its presence a testament
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  of the power of listening and the courage to speak.
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  As Christmas day dawned, the community was being transformed. Listening Mike's presence had sparked waves
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  of empathy, transformed. Listening Mike's presence had sparked waves
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  of empathy and connection, reminding everyone of the power of
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  sharing their stories and listening to the stories of others.
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  Community organizations and churches opened their doors wider than ever
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  before, offering love and support to those in need.
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  The true spirit of Christmas had come alive, not in the
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  presents or decorations, but in the empathy and compassion
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  that flowed through the community. And so dear
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  listeners, as we gather around our Christmas trees and share the
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  stories with loved ones, let us remember the voices that often
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  go unspoken. Could it be that if given the chance to
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  be heard, these voices could cause a mic drop moment for you
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  and across your community?
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  This Christmas, you can help create mic drop moments by amplifying
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  inspiring voices and honest conversations all across
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  Canada. Did you know that there have been over 16,000
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  downloads already of our Journey with Care podcast? Listers
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  are being impacted and new conversations are unfolding and hearts are
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  becoming more compassionate because of it. All because
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  brave, unheard voices are speaking up. There are many
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  more voices waiting to share their stories and many more listeners who
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  could forever be impacted by hearing their insights.
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  For just $250 you can help sponsor a mic
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  drop moment on our weekly journey with Care podcast. Each mic
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  drop moment that you give to one of your loved ones sponsors one
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  powerful weekly episode to send waves of compassion
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  and insight for years to come. Boom. Go
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  to careimpactchristmas.com and let's hear the mic
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  drop all across Canada. Careimpactchristmas.com.