Threads of Compassion Stretch from Port Moody to the World

I'm happy to report that Freshet News has just published this story that I wrote. Enjoy!

When Chris and Val McKinnon sit at the dining room table of their Port Moody condominium, it’s more often to share their passion, for helping girls in developing areas of the world, than to share a meal.

That’s because the table is home to two sewing machines that the couple employ to sew reusable sanitary kits for underprivileged girls around the globe.

Chris, 72, and Val, 69, volunteer under the umbrella of the Days for Girls program, an international non-profit that provides reusable menstrual‑health kits and education to help eliminate barriers associated with menstruation in many developing countries.

The retired teachers report that the Port Moody chapter they now lead produced 1,300 such kits in 2025 alone—exceeding the 1,000-kits-a-year target they set five years ago.

Both Val and Chris, who have been married for 51 years, smile with obvious satisfaction about that output, and enthusiastically thank not only the volunteers who are part of their chapter, but also a group of women they lead on Monday evenings at Talitha Koum’s Society’s Starr House in Coquitlam—a residential, addiction-recovery facility for women.

Their relationship with Talitha Koum began in 2017 when Chris’s sister, society president Mary O’Neill, suggested they collaborate with TK’s clients to not only teach them new skills but also to show them a way of giving back to society.

The McKinnons arrive at Starr House with an hour’s worth of sewing, ironing, or serging tasks. The evening starts with a prayer written by one of the women and then the instruction and sewing begin amidst a gentle of whirring sewing machines and friendly chatter.

Over time, the sewing circle has become a place not only of peace and purpose, but also of celebration. For the past several Decembers, Val and Chris have led the women in a Christmas pageant that includes traditional carols and a narrative first written and staged by Chris’ broader McKinnon family 40 years ago.

“Every Monday when we come home, we say, ‘Wasn’t that a great night,’” Chris, who taught middle school students in Coquitlam before retiring, said. “It’s been really special. A lot of the women say the work makes them feel good, gives them a sense of peace.”

“I remember the very first night,” said Val, who taught at Coquitlam’s Queen of All Saints elementary school. “I didn’t know anything about the world these women came from. I’d lived a protected life. And then you meet them — they are so sweet and so polite. I’ve seen tears running down their cheeks when they watch the Days for Girls video. It’s been a huge eye‑opener.”

Today, she’s thankful that she had the opportunity to bring the project to the women. “Marrying the two charities has warmed my heart,” Val said. Their commitment to the project is laced into the fabric of their faith. “Our hope, as Catholics, is that the pillars of our faith are interwoven into our actions,” the couple said. “The call to help one another has been our guiding light.”

They are confident that putting those words into action through Days for Girls is having a positive impact. “Whenever women thrive, it has been found that the entire community is raised up,” they said.

The McKinnons first learned of Days for Girls 10 years ago when they stumbled upon a group sewing the sanitary kits in the common room of their Newport Village condominium building. That team was led by Vida Peterson, a Port Moody Rotary member and the driving force behind establishing the chapter and helping Days for Girls become a registered Canadian charity.

“We just happened to wander in,” Chris recalls. “And there she was.”

The chapter had been operating for three years when the McKinnons joined, and by the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they had taken over leadership. Today, with Chris as the formal head, their chapter includes about two dozen local volunteers, plus a group on Mayne Island, where the McKinnons have a vacation cabin, and the Talitha Koum women’s group.

Val laughs when she describes the scale of their operation: “We pretty well do it every day of the week,” she said.

She’s not complaining, though. “As a retired teacher, I do like to keep busy,” said Val, who has enjoyed sewing since she was a child. “I wake up every morning, surrounded by piles of fabric, and it does put me in my happy place.”

Chris, on the other hand, faced a steep learning curve. His passion was sports, and he had never sewn until Val taught him when he was 63. Moreover, even though he grew up alongside four sisters and three brothers, he admits he had complete ignorance of women’s menstrual issues.

All that changed after he viewed a Days for Girls’ educational video that explained how, in poverty-stricken parts of the world, girls often have to miss a week’s worth of schooling every month because of their periods. They also face discrimination and, far too often, pressure for sexual favours to allow them to return to class.

“They suffer terrible abuse,” Chris said.

Their chapter receives strong support from the Catholic Women’s League, All Saints, St. Nicholas, St. Anne and Joachim Catholic parishes, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society at All Saints. The chapter also received a grant from the R.R. Smith Memorial Fund Foundation last year.

It all supports an important cause, the McKinnons say. Indeed, it seems clear that in the quiet hum of their sewing machines, dignity is stitched, community is built, and hope travels farther than either of them ever imagined.