CTV News Kitchener’s top feel-good stories of 2025

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Ont. woman wins big at small town store

Guelph, Ont. toddler's new chapter comes with a playground, thanks to team of volunteers from across

Nurses reunite after 50 years

Puppy finds new home in Guelph after a machete attack

Rekindling old friendships, life-changing lottery wins and coming together to build something special for a little girl – here are some of the positive moments from 2025 that may help you remember the good times.

Fergus woman wins $40-million Lotto Max jackpot

In January, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) announced someone had ended 2024 on a high note with a big $40-million win.

The hunt for the winner first began on Dec. 11, after OLG announced the jackpot winning ticket had been sold somewhere in Wellington County. It wasn’t until January that we learned who that lucky person was.

“It’s surreal, but deep down inside, I’m actually quivering,” Elizabeth Trafford of Fergus said.

The retiree said she had been following her usual Saturday morning routine when she stopped at her local gas station, Blinkhorn’s Corner Variety, to check her tickets.

“The first one came up, ‘Not a winner,” she told CTV News during an interview on Jan. 23. “The second one blew the machines in the store – they all went off at the same time. All I saw was, ‘Big winner! Big winner!’”

Store owner Rob Blinkhorn said the biggest winning ticket sold at the store before this was $100,000. When he learned Trafford hit the jackpot, he was elated.

“She’s been a client for quite a few years,” he explained. “I can’t think of a better person to win.”

While some of the money will be used for travelling, which Trafford has always wanted to do, a good chunk of the winnings will be inherited by her son.

Once the reality began to set in, Trafford put together a team to make sure her Quick Pick ticket was safe and that her winnings could be used in the best way possible.

Waterloo woman’s lucky break becomes a big win for kids with disabilities

Elizabeth Trafford wasn’t the only big winner this year.

When Sarah Nellis from Waterloo learned she had won $5 million, she decided to donate some of that windfall to KidsAbility.

Nellis said she had been struggling with some issues lately, and the win came at a good time.

“I’ve been having difficulty with disabilities and things,” she told CTV News on Jan. 10. “I’ve been trying to get better.”

Nellis’ daughter, Sophie, died in 2017 and the mom began the unenviable task of managing her own mental health struggles and dealing with her daughter’s death while still raising her six living children.

The challenges meant she had not been able to work, and was due for some good luck.

“My son and I went to my mom’s for dinner, and he looked up at the sky and said, ‘Mom, look at the star.’ And I said, ‘OK, we need to make a wish.’ And I wished for a lottery jackpot, a big jackpot. And he wished for my health to improve,” Nellis recalled.

She went to a convenience store in Waterloo to purchase a pair of tickets. One happened to be a loser, but the other was a very different story.

“I looked and I couldn’t really focus on the numbers because there were so many zeroes, but I couldn’t really think about what the number is. I thought maybe $5,000. And then it was really $5 million,” she said. “I phoned my mom right away and I said, ‘Please look at your phone, but don’t have a heart attack.’”

She decided she wanted to give back to KidsAbility, the organization that helped her family. She said she will keep donating to KidsAbility to honour her daughter’s memory.

Volunteers from across Canada build playground for Guelph toddler

A young girl in Guelph received a special surprise in April thanks to a team of secret volunteers.

It happened as the girl was in the process of being adopted by her grandparents.

“We officially got custody of Adele at the end of March,” Dave Latreille, Adele’s grandfather said. “Mom and dad struggled with some addiction issues and really, staying with my wife and I was probably the best solution for Adele.”

Latreille said he knew their lives would completely change after adopting their three-year-old granddaughter. Wanting to help mark the beginning of her new life, Trevor Zahara, a 1984 graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, decided to step in.

“We wanted to come together and support this very powerful move that they’re doing,” Zahara said.

Zahara, who buys, sells and installs playgrounds, learned that one of his clients had a spare set. Recognizing that Adele didn’t have a playground of her own, he made plans to deliver and install it himself — travelling all the way from Edmonton to Guelph.

“It’s going to be a teary moment, for me anyway, when Adele plays on it,” an emotional Zahara said.

But Zahara didn’t come alone.

He recruited about a dozen friends, many of them Laurier University alumni, to secretly volunteer their time and labour. Together, they planned to complete the entire playground build in just one day.

Six hours, hundreds of nails and 24 callused hands later, the playground was completed — all for little Adele to enjoy.

Former nursing students reunite in Kitchener more than 50 years after graduation

A group of women proved that time can’t tear apart the bonds of friendship during a special reunion in May.

Former students of St. Mary’s School of Nursing returned to their old stomping ground to retread the paths that lead them to who they are today.

“[It’s] bringing back memories that some of us have forgotten,” graduate Fren Faw, who travelled from British Columbia, said. “We have this common bond. It’s special and we are grateful.”

The 1970 class gathered at the hospital formerly known as St. Mary’s General Hospital and shared photos from the days when they were enroled in a nursing program there. It was only available for a few years, but those who took part said they forged life-long friendships.

“Sneaking out after curfew, a lot of tears, a lot of celebrations,” Jeanette Bomhof recalled. “A lot of engagements in our third year, a few marriages in our third year, which we really weren’t supposed to do, but we got approval from our director, Sister Virginia. There are a lot of things that will remain as secrets forever.”

For some, like Billie Hilborn who began her nursing journey at 18-years-old, the choice to enroll shaped their lives.

“We had a two-plus-one program. We did all the bookwork in the first two years and then in our residence, or in our last year, we worked. We were called nurse interns and we were paid $300 a month and lived out of residence.”

Hilborn, now 75, is still working in nursing.

“I graduated in October with my PhD in nursing in the inaugural PhD nursing class at York University in Toronto,” she explained.

The group plans to meet up again in 2030.

Puppy attacked with machete in St. Lucia finds ‘fur-ever’ home in Ontario

A puppy who survived a terrible ordeal has found a new home with one of the people who helped save his life.

Gibby, who was formerly known as Gabriel, was the victim of a brutal machete attack in the Caribbean. The five-month-old puppy was found in May by a surveyor who was working on a remote beach in St. Lucia. They contacted a non-profit animal rescue on the island, Helpaws. After a local vet recommended euthanasia due to a lack of resources, the rescue reached out to Renee Fleming, a veterinarian at Guelph Animal Hospital, who had worked with them previously on spay and neuter missions.

“We brought him back from St. Lucia and he had an initial few surgeries for his trauma,” said Fleming.

After a few treatments and tests, the pup was given a second chance at life and it was time to find him a loving family. Luckily, he didn’t have to go far.

Fleming said she didn’t plan on adopting Gibby when she first met him, but after spending weeks together, it seemed like the perfect fit.

“I couldn’t imagine our lives without him,” she said.

Leading up to Gibby’s adoption, the rescue started a GoFundMe page to cover the cost of his care, surpassing their goal of $25,000 USD.

“It’s so nice to see that they were able to raise so much money in his name,” said Fleming. “But we’re able to care for him moving forward.”

Fleming said the funds will go to other animals who need help.

As for what’s next, Fleming said Gibby may undergo further testing and imaging once he’s fully grown. But for now, he’s putting his best paw forward.

“At this point, we just want him to be happy and live the best life that he can have,” Fleming said.