A Victoria police officer returns from a call to find a message scrawled on the sidewalk beside his car: 鈥淭hank U VICPD 4 Your Service.鈥�
Grocery cashiers at a Red Barn Market in Esquimalt look up from their work to see children parading in front of the store with handmade 鈥淭hank you!鈥� signs.
Firefighters in Colwood, busy checking their trucks and preparing for the day ahead, notice a sign propped on a bench across the street from the firehall that says, simply, 鈥淭hank You 1st Responders.鈥�
In the age of COVID-19, the only thing spreading faster than the virus, it seems, are random acts of appreciation for people still working on the frontlines in the midst of a pandemic.
From web posts to lampposts, the signs are everywhere and it鈥檚 not going unnoticed.
Colwood Fire Chief John Cassidy says that 鈥淭hank you鈥� sign, left on a bench across from the firehall, meant more to his firefighters than most people realize.
鈥淔rom a morale standpoint, it鈥檚 amazing what even a small thank you can do,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 mean our fire department, our volunteers, our career members, we鈥檙e all people as well, so we鈥檙e managing the anxiety, the tension.鈥�
Cassidy said some of the volunteer firefighters in his department have been laid off from their regular jobs because of the pandemic. 鈥淪o I mean having just a quiet 鈥榯hank you鈥� and a note of appreciation really makes a difference.鈥�
Shannon Aris, who manages the Red Barn Market in Esquimalt, said her staff members were amazed when they looked out the window to see a group of children holding up 鈥淭hank You鈥� signs.
鈥淚t鈥檚 huge,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the employees here realized how important their jobs are.鈥�
The impact of a simple thank you often extends well beyond the intended target. A聽sidewalk message to a single officer has a way of rippling through the entire department, Victoria Police Chief Del Manak said Friday.
鈥淭hese small gestures go a long way in motivating the officers and giving them a feeling that they鈥檙e appreciated and respected, and they just want to go do that much more,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 just the way we鈥檙e wired as human beings.
鈥淲hen these types of goodwill things happen in trying times, it just sends such a positive message and your mindset shifts from something that perhaps could be a bit anxious or stressful to something that is far more positive, and it keeps us in the right frame of mind.鈥�
Victoria police officers took some of that goodwill and paid it forward to healthcare workers on Thursday night.
At the start of their shift, all the on-duty patrol officers rallied at Royal Jubilee, circling the emergency department in their cars with the lights flashing, before getting out to applaud the people working inside.
It was a spur-of-the-moment tribute organized by the officers themselves, Manak said.
鈥淭his wasn鈥檛 a directive from the chief, which actually, to me, has more meaning because then it鈥檚 coming from the heart,鈥� he said.
And, like all the other nods of appreciation in recent days, this one hit the mark.
Dr. Chris Hall, executive medical director with Island Health, posted a note to Manak on Twitter Friday morning, thanking his officers for the 15-car salute.
鈥淭his gesture helped our teams so much!鈥� she said. 鈥淭hank you.
鈥淲e feel more brave together.鈥�
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