Brice Royer was diagnosed with a rare type of stomach cancer and began looking for the cause. He decided that if his life were filled with more love and sharing, rather than purchasing and selling, the simplicity might help to heal him.

He researched and found that many "gift economies" were popping up around the world that exist to share everything from housing to food to transportation, but there were none in his location of Vancouver, BC.

So, he wrote a blog post about it and opened a Facebook group and within weeks, 685 people joined from three cities.

"One of the group's most active members is Peter Endisch, a computer programmer turned environmental activist, who decided to give Royer his car — a 2000 minivan which he had planned to sell for $1,500 — after reading Royer's blog post."

The gift of the van inspired Royer to make a grand gesture of his own — gifting an ill woman with rent for an entire year.

Since the group launched, a cruise was given away, a kayak, and more.

(READ the story in the Vancouver Sun here, and a follow up, here)