Cancer victim's 'kind deed' campaign carries on

Heidi Schlumpf. (Source: Schlumpf family/Heidi’s Hope)

Heidi Schlumpf could have asked for anything for her birthday last year — she had just been diagnosed with Triple Negative metastasis breast cancer, with a dire prognosis.

But instead of pulling away, the 34-year-old Listowel native reached out, creating a campaign encouraging her community to do “kind deeds” for each other.

“Kindness is the first word that comes to mind when you think about her,” said her brother Tyler Van Dyke. “It was no shock to us, but it’s really created something special.”

Thousands of kind deeds were done in Heidi’s name on her birthday, Sept. 8, 2021, using the #putakinddeedinyourfeed hashtag.

This year, the campaign carries on, without Heidi. She passed away on Aug. 10, leaving behind her husband, four children and now, a lasting legacy for the entire community.

Heidi Schlumpf and her family. (Source: Schlumpf family/Heidi’s Hope)“When we first started planning for this year’s campaign, we envisioned her being a part of it. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, but we’ve been able to proceed with her in our mind. We are excited to see what can happen, today,” said Van Dyke.

Already Thursday morning, nearly 1,000 #putakinddeedinyourfeed good deeds have been completed in Heidi’s memory.

Among them, donations to Heidi’s Hope fundraiser towards cancer research and support.

The fundraiser, which can also be found on Instagram, has now topped $133,000.