What Gander Teaches Us About Caring for One Another 
There are places where history feels very far away.
And then there’s Gander, Newfoundland.
We recently visited Gander International Airport and the North Atlantic Aviation Museum, where one of Canada’s most remarkable stories of kindness and community comes vividly back to life.
On September 11, 2001, when U.S. airspace closed, 38 planes carrying nearly 6,600 passengers and crew were diverted to Gander — a town of roughly 10,000 people.
So Newfoundlanders did what Newfoundlanders do.
They figured it out. ❤️
Schools, churches and community halls became places to sleep. Food poured in. Locals opened their homes for showers. Clothes and toiletries appeared. Volunteers transported, fed and comforted thousands of frightened strangers who had unexpectedly landed far from home.
There weren’t enough hotels. There weren’t enough beds.
Nobody asked, What’s in it for us?
They asked, What do you need?
Standing there nearly 25 years later, that’s the part of the story that stayed with me.
We talk a lot about wellness as something we do for ourselves — eating well, exercising, resting, travelling, taking time to recharge.
But there’s another kind of wellness too.
It’s belonging. Community. Human connection. Knowing that when life suddenly goes sideways, somebody will pull up a chair, make you a cup of tea and help you figure out what comes next.
The people of Gander didn’t know the strangers arriving that day. They didn’t need to.
Someone needed help.
And sometimes, taking care of one another may be one of the most powerful forms of wellness there is. ❤️ 