The daughters of a murdered Kings County woman are marking what would have been their mother's 60th birthday Dec. 8 by asking people to share their acts of joy and kindness, something they say is needed as the difficult year of 2020 comes to a close.
Lacey Conrad, Leah Profitt and Nadea Melenchuk say it's a better way to talk about another year passing since the death of their mother, Leslie Ann Conrad, in 2006.
She was reported missing Oct. 6 of that year. Her body was found in a wooded area in Robinson Corner, about seven kilometres south of her Lower Wolfville home, almost seven weeks later. No one has been charged in her killing.
“We wanted to recognize her and spread joy; that's the whole idea behind this movement,” Melenchuk said.
“The main goal was to bring awareness to her and a positive light, because that's something that would be important to her,” Conrad said. “There's been so much negativity surrounding the end of her life that we want to bring life to what she would have wanted, and that is to pass kindness on to others who need it.”
Melenchuk said that with 2020 being such a bad year for so many people, “we really think this is the best time to do it.”
They're asking anyone who does something kind or brings joy to someone to post it on social media with the hashtag #FORLES.
Melenchuk said the family “went through some pretty dark times, and we came out of it. ... What we're trying to do is put our story out there, her story out there, and let people know that little things can mean so much to people when they're going through a hard time.”
Conrad said the sisters “were given so much kindness and support from total strangers that it's really important for us to give that back to the community and to say thank you for everything that everyone has done for us to support us.”
Profitt said it's nice to see other people taking on the initiative and doing things on their own.
“I think that's the neatest part about it," she said. "It's not just for us, it's for other people.”
The sisters have been taking the initiative to friends and businesses, “and they've run with it,” Melenchuk said.
“The coolest thing is seeing (posts) that we haven't reached out to people for, so it's spreading organically that way. It's starting to take off and people are really getting behind it.”
They donated a gift card for groceries to a Hantsport grocery store manager to hand out, and he matched that with one of his own. One of the people he gave a card to then used it to buy food for the local food bank.
Profitt said many Nova Scotians have had a difficult year, between the pandemic, resulting job losses and isolation, the deadly shooting spree in April and other tragedies.
“It doesn't need to be monetary by any means,” she said. “It could be shovelling your neighbour's driveway, or baking some cookies for someone.”
Melenchuk and her sons spent Saturday morning writing Christmas cards for residents of the Kings Regional Rehabilitation Centre in Waterville.
“That cost us almost nothing to do, but the amount of joy it will bring to the residents there is huge,” she said.
Conrad said the campaign is letting the sisters “celebrate her 60th birthday in the only way I know she would appreciate.”
The sisters said a secondary goal is to bring attention to their mother's case, in the hope that new information may come to police.
They have also set up an email address, [email protected], for any questions about what they're doing.
