"I alone cannot change the world," admitted Mother Teresa, "but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples." Dianne Moore (pictured, with her husband Jim) can attest to the so-called "ripple effect" first-hand. As a girl, she loved playing ping-pong with her dad. "It was great fun and a wonderful bonding time," she recalls. In 2012, Moore approached the city of Toronto with a plan to make such fun and wonderful bonding freely available to the public. She designed a distinctive concrete ping-pong table, complete with spherical legs, and argued that every city park should have one. The city though it over and decided that ping-pong should be freely available to all, like health care. To date, 120 of Moore's tables have been installed in parks across Toronto, thanks to a combination of city funds and private donations. "One of my proudest moments was when an outdoor table was installed in the courtyard at Ronald McDonald House," recalls Moore. "One of the kids who was attached to a portable oxygen tank had the biggest smile and said, ‘This is a game I can play!’ Even though he had the oxygen tube in his nose, we played a wonderful game." Thanks to the ripple effect, Moore's signature concrete tables are now popping up in Pakistan. Lahore Rotary Club president Faiza Arshad Alevi was inspired to commission tables for public use after a visit to Toronto. "There are now four outdoor tables in Lahore," marvels Moore. "They’re installed in courtyards and provide the students — girls in particular — the opportunity for physical activity in a safe environment." Thanks to Moore's infectious inspiration, traditionally disadvantaged girls in Pakistan now get to enjoy a game of ping-pong with their families, just as she did in her youth. Far from resting on her laurels, Moore is redoubling her efforts to ensure that every one of Toronto's 540 parks is properly furnished. As the Dalai Lama has said, "Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects." While a single pebble can make waves, Dianne Moore has quite wittingly unleashed a tsunami of fun and wonderful bonding with her concrete ping-pong tables.

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