Alberta community leads growing national movement with an ambitious goal: 1,000,000 Acts of Resilience™ across Canada
BROOKS, Alberta — September 2, 2026 — The City of Brooks, Alberta has become the first city to officially recognize National Resilience Day™ — September 24, 2026, marking an important milestone in a growing Canada-wide movement encouraging people to help one another move forward when life changes unexpectedly.
Mayor Norm Gerestein confirmed the proclamation on behalf of the City of Brooks on September 2.
In its official confirmation, the City stated that National Resilience Day encourages Canadians to “recognize and celebrate stories of resilience” and support one another through meaningful Acts of Resilience™.
National Resilience Day™ is part of a rapidly expanding Canadian resilience movement with one ambitious national goal:
1,000,000 Acts of Resilience™.
An Act of Resilience™ can be remarkably simple: checking on someone facing a difficult time, supporting an exhausted caregiver, helping someone dealing with job loss, welcoming someone back after serious illness, listening to someone who is grieving, helping an isolated senior, thanking a first responder or simply reminding another person:
“You can move forward from this.”
The movement was founded by Alberta physician, author and resilience advocate Allen S. Lycka, whose own life changed dramatically after he was diagnosed with ALS and told he had approximately six months to live.
The diagnosis ultimately proved incorrect, but the experience left Lycka with a question that would shape the next chapter of his life:
What happens next?
“Canada has extraordinary systems for responding when crisis first arrives,” said Lycka. “But after the diagnosis, the loss, the wildfire, the job loss, the caregiving crisis or the unexpected event, people still have to figure out how to move forward. National Resilience Day is about what happens next—and about reminding people that they do not have to do it alone.”
Why Brooks Matters
Brooks is a fitting community to lead the movement.
The city and surrounding region have been shaped by agriculture, immigration, changing economic conditions and people arriving from around the world to build new lives in southern Alberta.
Its resilience is not defined by a single event. It can be found in families adapting to change, newcomers beginning again in a new country, farmers confronting difficult conditions, workers navigating economic uncertainty, caregivers supporting loved ones, healthcare professionals caring for their community, first responders answering the call and neighbours quietly helping neighbours.
“Brooks becoming the first city to recognize National Resilience Day sends a powerful message,” Lycka said. “Resilience isn’t something that belongs only to people who have survived extraordinary disasters. It belongs to every person who has faced a moment when life changed and somehow found a way forward.”
Three Simple Ways Communities Can Participate
National Resilience Day™ is inviting municipalities across Canada to do three things:
- Recognize September 24, 2026 as National Resilience Day™ and invite residents, businesses, healthcare organizations, schools, first responders, community organizations, volunteers and families to participate in their own Acts of Resilience™.
- Identify three to five compelling local stories of resilience that Canada should hear—stories involving serious illness, caregiving, grief, loss, disability, economic hardship, disaster, employment disruption or another unexpected life change.
- Share the National Resilience Day™ invitation with neighbouring communities and existing regional networks, creating opportunities for communities to participate together while retaining their own local identity and recognition.
There is no financial obligation for municipalities to participate, and communities are not being asked to create a major new event, committee or municipal program.
Instead, National Resilience Day™ is designed to recognize and amplify something already happening in communities every day:
People helping people move forward.
A National Movement Begins in Alberta
Brooks’ proclamation represents an important first step as municipalities, organizations, employers, healthcare leaders, first responders, schools and community groups across Canada are invited to participate in the inaugural National Resilience Day™.
Participating municipalities may also be recognized as Founding National Resilience Communities™, creating a coast-to-coast network of communities committed to strengthening resilience, hope and human connection.
The national campaign ultimately hopes to inspire:
1,000,000 Canadians.
1,000,000 Acts of Resilience™.
One National Resilience Day™ — September 24.
And now, it has its first city.
Brooks, Alberta.
“Every national movement has to begin somewhere,” said Lycka. “Today, it begins with a community willing to say that resilience matters. I am incredibly grateful to Mayor Gerestein and the City of Brooks for being the first to stand with us.”
About National Resilience Day™
National Resilience Day™ — September 24 is a Canadian initiative created to recognize the capacity of individuals, families and communities to adapt, recover, rebuild and move forward with hope and purpose when life changes unexpectedly.
Through 1,000,000 Acts of Resilience™, Canadians are encouraged to take simple actions that support people experiencing illness, loss, caregiving, disability, disaster, economic hardship, personal adversity and other life-changing circumstances.
The initiative is part of When Life Changes Everything™ and the Canadian Resilience Network™.
RESILIENCE. HOPE. PURPOSE.
MEDIA CONTACT
Allen S. Lycka
Founder, When Life Changes Everything™
Canadian Resilience Network™ | National Resilience Day™
[email protected]
780-907-5971
