'Notes were spilling over': gratitude wall gets huge response at Osoyoos Dairy Queen

The owners of a Dairy Queen in the South Okanagan say they're blown away by the response they've received to a gratitude wall they started just before Thanksgiving.

What began as an idea to fill a picture with sticky notes with anonymous messages about what people are thankful for has turned into a giant display.

"The notes were spilling over onto the whole entire wall," said Caron Keens, co-owner of the Dairy Queen in Osoyoos.

"It's just been overwhelming."

Keens estimates visitors have filled out at least 380 sticky notes so far. The project is so popular that Keens has decided to keep it going until American Thanksgiving on November 28.

"It's been quite inspiring. We hope we've put a little spark into people's lives," she told Daybreak South host Chris Walker.

Gratitude is free

Keens says there all kinds of messages have been written, ranging from funny to heartwarming.

One that stood out in particular to Keens was written by an woman who said she was grateful for every breath she takes after having a double lung transplant.

"I gave her a big hug," said Keens. "Until you can read what other people are grateful for, you don't know."

Other messages on the wall include one from a kid happy to be playing hockey, a couple grateful to be married for 65 years, and a man happy he's alive at age 81.

"The beautiful thing about gratitude is that it's free, but the benefits are priceless," she said.

Keens hopes that by getting people to write these messages, they will continue to write what they're grateful for in their every day lives.

"There's a huge ripple effect here," she said.