Our community may have only 1,750 residents, but kindness has never recognized municipal boundaries.

It Began in One Small Community

Our home is a community of approximately 1,750 people.

It isn't a large city.

It doesn't attract millions of visitors each year.

It simply has people who care about one another.

Every walk with Little Man Cash and his friends, every free cart ride, every visit with seniors, every conversation on the sidewalk, every parade, every farmers' market, every community event, and every visitor welcomed to the farm became another opportunity to connect.

Over time, something unexpected happened.

People began sharing those experiences.

Visitors returned home with stories.

Families told friends.

Books travelled.

Photographs were shared.

Conversations continued long after people had left our community.

That is how kindness grows.

Not through advertising.

Not through population.

But one genuine relationship at a time.

Today, people discover My Little Funny Farm through everyday conversations, visitors, books, social media, and the communities that continue sharing our story. Each connection creates another opportunity for someone else to begin their own story.

That is why the Community Story Shelf Initiative was never meant for one town.

It simply began here.

If a community of 1,750 people can inspire connections that reach far beyond its borders, imagine what could happen if communities everywhere began sharing their own stories.

Stories don't stop at town limits.

Neither does kindness.

Growing Together

The Community Story Shelf Initiative isn't only about sharing our own stories.

It's about helping others share theirs.

As a self-published author, I've learned many of the steps involved in turning an idea into a finished book. While every publishing journey is different, I'm happy to share what I've learned with individuals, families, schools, organizations, and aspiring authors.

My hope is that, over time, more local stories will be written, more books will be published, and more authors will see their work become part of Community Story Shelves across participating communities.

Because every community has stories worth sharing.

Choose Your Way to Participate

Every community is different.

Every person has something different to offer.

Some people may choose to sponsor a Community Story Shelf.

Some may build one.

Some may establish one for their own community

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Others may become What if We Chose Love Instead?™ participants, community partners, volunteers, or simply help share stories that inspire others.

There is no single way to participate.

Every path strengthens a growing network of people, businesses, organizations, and communities who believe stories have the power to bring people together.

Whether your goal is to support a single Community Story Shelf, become an Official What if We Chose Love Instead?™ participant, share your own story, or help your entire community become involved, there is a place for you within this initiative.

The following pages will guide you through each opportunity, allowing you to choose the path that best reflects how you would like to participate.

Every story matters.

Every community matters.

Every act of kindness matters.

The Community Story Shelf Initiative grows because people choose to become part of something bigger than themselves.

No matter where your story begins, it has the power to help another community grow.

The next chapter could begin with you.

Explore Your Path

Choose the area that best reflects how you'd like to participate.

Discover how writers can help inspire communities.

Create welcoming spaces where stories bring people together.

Encourage reading, kindness, and community involvement.

Celebrate local history and preserve community stories.

Bring people together through shared purpose, local partnerships, and community connection.

Support your community while becoming part of something bigger.

Share your time, talents, and passion for building stronger communities.

Have an idea? We'd love to hear it.

What if We Chose Love Instead?™ 

Every community has a story.

Every person has something to offer.

Every act of kindness has the power to change someone's day—and sometimes, their life.

The Community Story Shelf Initiative exists because of one simple question:

What if We Chose Love Instead?™

What if we chose connection instead of division?

What if we celebrated one another instead of competing?

What if every library, school, author, business, museum, organization, volunteer, and community worked together to help stories bring people closer?

That is the heart of this initiative.

Joining the initiative is not about becoming part of My Little Funny Farm.

It is about becoming part of something larger than any one person, business, or community.

Every participant remains proudly independent.

Your name remains your own.

Your identity remains your own.

Your community remains your own.

The only recognition we ask participants to display is the official My Little Funny Farm Ltd. Logo recognition, identifying your participation in the What if We Chose Love Instead?™ movement.

It tells visitors, readers, and communities everywhere that they have found people who believe stories can build stronger communities.

When you choose to become an official participant, you are doing more than joining a website.

You become part of an international network dedicated to celebrating local stories, encouraging kindness, and helping communities learn from one another.

Your participation also helps another community begin.

Joinng the movement directly support the continued growth of the initiative, making it possible for schools, libraries, organizations, small communities, and individuals with limited financial resources to participate so that no one is left behind.

Because kindness should never be limited by circumstance.

One Question.

What if We Chose Love Instead?™

One Symbol.

Presented by My Little Funny Farm

One Growing Network.

Communities everywhere, choosing love instead—together.

Growing Together

Every participating Community Story Shelf becomes part of something bigger.

As more shelves are established, participating locations within a community may choose to rotate books between libraries, businesses, museums, organizations, visitor centres, and other participating locations.

Readers discover more local stories.

Authors receive greater community exposure.

Communities celebrate more of the people who call them home.

As the initiative grows, we also hope to maintain a community directory showing participating Community Story Shelves and, where practical, which books are currently being featured throughout that community.

Because every story deserves the opportunity to be discovered.

Join our Growing Network!

Paying it Forward

Recognition through What if We Chose Love Instead?™ does more than support the continued growth of the initiative.

As resources allow, it also creates opportunities to:

• Help establish Community Story Shelves.

• Help place Community Story Shelves in hospitals, long-term care homes, and other places where stories can bring comfort and connection.

• Help provide books for participating Community Story Shelves.

• Support literacy initiatives.

• Assist schools, libraries, museums, and community organizations.

Because kindness grows when we share it.

Community Story Shelf Participation Packages

Every community is unique.

Our goal is to provide fair, transparent pricing based on actual manufacturing costs rather than arbitrary estimates.

Package pricing will be finalized once manufacturing partnerships and production costs have been confirmed.

Until then, each package remains under development to ensure participants receive the greatest possible value while allowing the initiative to remain sustainable for years to come.

Pricing Status

Community Story Shelf Participation Package

Pricing to be determined following final manufacturing quotations.

DIY Community Story Shelf Participation Plans

Pricing to be determined following production review.

Recognition Plaques

Pricing to be determined following supplier quotations.

Replacement Components

Pricing to be determined.

Shipping

Calculated based on destination from Nakusp, British Columbia Canada.

Installation

Community-dependent.

Our commitment is simple:

We will never inflate pricing simply because demand exists. Every package will be priced as fairly as possible while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Community Story Shelf Initiative. As manufacturing costs become known, pricing will be updated publicly so communities can make informed decisions with confidence.

Local Manufacturing Philosophy

Community Story Shelves are intended to be manufactured as close to the participating community as practical.

Rather than shipping completed shelves around the world, My Little Funny Farm Ltd. seeks to work with approved manufacturing partners who can produce Community Story Shelves locally while meeting the initiative's design, quality, and branding standards.

This approach:

• reduces transportation costs,

• shortens delivery times,

• supports local businesses and employment,

• creates opportunities for schools, social enterprises, and community organizations,

• reduces environmental impacts associated with shipping,

• and allows more of each community's investment to remain within its own local economy.

Every Community Story Shelf remains part of the same worldwide initiative, regardless of where it is manufactured.

Growing Local Opportunity

Whenever practical, My Little Funny Farm Ltd. encourages participating communities to manufacture their Community Story Shelves locally using approved plans, specifications, and branding standards.

Communities are welcome to partner with approved local businesses, schools, social enterprises, employment programs, Indigenous organizations, community organizations, trades programs, or other qualified manufacturers that share the values of the What if We Chose Love Instead™ initiative.

Organizations that manufacture Community Story Shelves may establish fair pricing for their work within their own region. This allows local skills, employment opportunities, and economic benefits to remain within the community while ensuring every shelf continues to meet the quality and recognition standards of the initiative.

Our goal is not simply to build shelves.

Our goal is to help build stronger communities.

Every Community Story Shelf Participation Package Includes

• Official authorization to participate in the Community Story Shelf Initiative.

• Use of the approved Community Story Shelf plans and specifications (where applicable).

• Official shelf registry number.

• Permanent listing in the worldwide Community Story Shelf Registry.

• Official recognition plaque.

• Ongoing inclusion in the What if We Chose Love Instead™ initiative.

• A personally signed copy of Little Man Cash Walks the Line by Momma K.

Every Community Story Shelf begins with the same story that began My Little Funny Farm.

As a reminder that every great community initiative begins with a single act of kindness, each participating Community Story Shelf receives a personally signed copy of Little Man Cash Walks the Line by Momma K.