Colwood high school student inspires ‘A Million Acts of Love’ in honour of his late sister

Felix and dad Troy while in Italy for a presentation. Photo courtesy of Troy Townsin.

Felix Townsin is not your typical 14 year old. The Royal Bay Secondary School student became an author at the age of five, has travelled the world as a guest speaker on the topic of rare diseases, and is about to launch a campaign that will encourage people to perform a million acts of kindness.

He’s doing it all in honour of his sister Lexi, who passed away five years ago from Blau syndrome, a rare inflammatory disease that affects fewer than one in a million children worldwide.

Lexi, who would have turned 12 this year, was diagnosed with the disease as a toddler and Felix—two years her senior—saw it as his duty to help her.

At five, he wrote Don’t Floss Your Toes to raise money to find a cure for Blau. The money it brought in was used to start the Cure Blau Syndrome Foundation—it’s still selling copies and so far, has raised $75K for research on the disease. He says his activism will continue until a cure is found, a dream he and his family hope to one day see come true.

Now, he’s launching a campaign to spread positivity throughout the world as an homage to his sister’s legacy.

Felix describes Lexi as a selfless and loving person, who cared deeply about other people. Since she died, Felix and his family have tried to do something positive in her memory to mark her Dec. 12 birthday and her passing on Oct. 19. Last year, Felix had the idea to encourage 100 acts of kindness to “spread some Lexi Love.”

“The response was amazing—we had 100 acts right away, so we asked for more, and by the end, the ‘Spread Some Lexi Love’ campaign had inspired just over 5,000 acts of love,” Felix told Capital Daily.

Some of Felix’s favourite acts of love from last year took place close to home—Floyd’s Diner featured a brunch special called Lexi’s Double Bacon Benny, which became a way for her teachers, friends, family, and healthcare workers to celebrate Lexi’s memory—and abroad—one participant paid a vet bill for a cat in a shelter in Dubai, which allowed the cat to be adopted by a family in Scotland.

A boy in Duncan worked with his education assistant (EA) to cook food for his entire school, achieving 1,008 acts of love, which his EA said helped boost his confidence “by 1000%” according to Felix.

Felix decided to see how far the campaign could go, and has since brought the goal to 1M. Lexi’s favourite song was “A Million Dreams” from the film The Greatest Showman. Felix said it felt like kismet to turn a million dreams of kindness into reality, making it the perfect gift for his sister.

“She was an unusual kid and she never really asked for gifts—she always cared about others—so giving the world a million acts of love for her birthday is exactly what she would want.”

Lexi and Felix. Photo courtesy of Troy Townsin.

A Million Acts of Love encourages people to find multiple ways to spread love—big and small. Anyone can sign up to take part by themselves or get their classmates and workplaces involved. Each positive action a person does could count as an act of love—donating to a food bank, volunteering at a retirement home, or helping a neighbour in need could all be an act of love to add to Felix’s goal of one million. You could even bake cookies for your coworkers—each cookie would count as an act of love, he said.

Those looking to take part need to sign up so Felix is able to track each act of love—all you have to do is put down your name and the number of acts you plan to carry out.

“I might have gotten in over my head with this goal, but I’m going to try my hardest for Lexi,” Felix said.

He’s been hard at work to get the campaign off the ground while  doing his usual speaking gigs—all while attending high school in Colwood, leaving him with a jam-packed schedule.

But Felix says he’s used to his busy schedule. He’s been doing public speaking since he was 10 years old, speaking on rare diseases and grief at medical conferences around the world. He often draws surprised looks from doctors in attendance—“they are always shocked to see me at the conferences, like what is that kid doing here?”—but once he shows his expertise on the subject, he frequently receives standing ovations. His next presentation in a few weeks will be a little easier since it’s over Zoom, but it’s in Europe, so he’ll have to deliver it at 3am.

Troy Townsin, Felix’s dad, says he’s in awe of his son’s determination, especially when it comes to the role of big brother.

“I’m incredibly proud of Felix for everything he’s doing, especially considering the grief he’s carrying,” Troy said. “He was the best brother to Lexi, and he’s still her biggest advocate.”

“Even though he’s doing extraordinary things, he still sees himself as just a normal 14 year old—that’s exactly how we want him to feel.”

Now that he’s in high school, Felix says he wants to make school a priority. Still, he knows his advocacy work offers a unique educational opportunity. To accommodate both, he took two of his Grade 9 courses online over the summer to get a head start and to free up his schedule. He even wrote an entire essay assignment while in Kansas last month for a rare disease conference.

Now he’s wrapping up one of his biggest projects in anticipation of the campaign’s launch, one that he’s been working on since August.

The campaign kicks off on Friday—the day before the anniversary of Lexi’s death—with a benefit concert at the Victoria Scottish Community Centre, featuring top Victoria musicians Leeroy Stagger, Caleb Hart, Daniel Lapp, and the BC Fiddle Orchestra, who have all donated their time to help Felix launch it (this could count as their act of love). Up-and-coming singer Chase Varnes, 13, will perform outside the venue for those who couldn’t secure a ticket.

Troy says keeping Lexi’s memory alive by bringing people together has been a comfort for the whole family and the benefit concert will be a new and exciting way to share her story and get people involved in A Million Acts of Love.

“We know Lexi would be so proud,” Felix and Troy wrote in a joint statement. “She was such a selfless kid, so knowing that so many amazing things are being done for others in her name would make her so happy. It feels like she’s still with us, guiding us.”