The Helpers
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers, you will always find people helping.’” - Mr. Rogers.
During these unprecedented times, we wanted to take a moment to look for the helpers - those who are acting in service to their communities to provide what both people and planet need most right now. Like you, we at The Renewal Workshop, are deeply grateful for healthcare workers, first responders, grocery store employees, sanitation workers, and all those who continue to work in difficult circumstances to keep essential services going.
It is also comforting to see corporations and institutions step up and offer resources where they are needed. There are companies providing pay to their employees while their retail stores are closed such as REI, VF Corp (Vans, The North Face, Dickies, Eagle Creek, et al), and Apple and many others. There are the service providers offering free support to help teachers and students—of all kinds—while schools are closed and people work from home. Examples range from companies like Loom, a video recording and sharing service providing their Loom Pro free for teachers and students, and Adobe giving higher education and K-12 institutional customers of their Creative Cloud apps the ability to request temporary “at-home” access for their students and educators, to the folks at the Barbara Bush Foundation who created a toolkit with online learning resources for parents and teachers.
And then there are distilleries across the country that are using excess alcohol to make much needed hand sanitizer like Blaum Bros. Distilling in Illinois, Breckenridge Distillery in Colorado, Durham Distillery in North Carolina, and our neighbor Portland-based Shine Distillery.
It’s encouraging to see this type of generosity when we need it most. If these stories leave you with a desire to make your own contribution to your community, here are a few ideas to help:
Reach out to an elderly neighbor to see if they need anything making sure to keep a safe distance. If you are able, make a donation to a local or national food bank. Be kind and patient. But really the most important thing you can do to be of help right now is to flatten the curve by practicing social distancing and only leaving home for essential trips.
Our Renewal Workshop family will continue to do all we can to help our employees, our partners, and our community.
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