A high school class in Truro, N.S. has been given a special Canadian flag as a symbol of gratitude.

Five flags fly each day on Parliament Hill. When they are changed, they are given to Canadian citizens. The demand for the flags is high and the wait is long, as much as 40 or 50 years.

Last week, a parliamentary flag was delivered to the yoga classroom at the Cobequid Education Centre in Truro.

It all started with a class project called Free Hugs.

“One of our philosophies that we talk about in yoga is karma, which is selfless service for others,” says yoga instructor Jeff MacKinnon. “Doing kind things for others without expecting anything in return and a hug doesn't cost anything.”

Last year, a minibus full of yoga students travelled around Truro offering free hugs.

Some students ended up at the Truro Hospital, where they gave hugs to Brenda Winchester, a patient in palliative care, and her family.

“We hugged her and she was just, it was just some people were just so happy about it, so it was just really nice,” says student Gregor McCarthy.

Donnie Winchester and his sister Cathie were there with their ill mother when the minibus showed up with the rest of the students.

“All the kids came out, there had to be 15, 20 kids, they all came out and they surrounded her, gave her big hugs and stuff, so it actually made her feel good,” says Winchester. “To see a smile on her face, it was a good thing to do.”

Brenda Winchester died a short time later.

Her brother, who lives in London, Ont., received a parliamentary flag about two years ago. He presented that flag to the yoga class, on behalf of the family.

“He wanted to do something special for them because it actually brought light to my mother's eyes in a dampering situation, I guess,” says Winchester.

“You know, we do this and sometimes there are good stories, and sometimes there are no stories, and it's just, you're never quite sure how far your kind ripples kind of go out into the atmosphere,” says MacKinnon.

The flag now hangs proudly in MacKinnon’s classroom. He says he expects it will spread good karma and inspire new students to continue with the free hugs program.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh