With all the negative news out there lately surrounding the Coronavirus, I felt it important today to share some positive news on that front. While statistics have shown that negative news sells, I say that positive news will help to make this world a far better place to live in right now!
In light of that, there are many reports of restaurants out there handing out free toilet paper with their take-out orders to help those in need who couldn’t find a single roll on grocery store shelves. Restaurants like Libby’s Southern Comfort in Covington, Kentucky, Backroads BBQ in Lebanon, Indiana, Cambridge Bar and Grill in Cambridge, Minnesota, The Beacon Tap in Des Plaines, Illinois, or the Cask & Pig Kitchen and Alehouse in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, to name just a few of the many places that have become willing to help in such a unique way.
Then there are reports of those who are helping the elderly who are at risk by doing their shopping for them. Take Rebecca Mehra for example. She was walking into a grocery store last month when she heard a woman yell to her from their car. When she walked over and found an elderly woman and her husband there with their window just slightly cracked, the woman explained in tears that she was afraid to go in the store, so Rebecca bought their groceries for them to help keep them safe. Along the same lines, Samantha Kelly set up a hashtag on Twitter titled #SelfIsolationHelp, solely for the purpose of helping people just like those that Rebecca Mehra aided.
While one of the biggest fears right now is how people are going to pay their rents for their housing, some are helping on that front like Michael Che of Saturday Night Live who decided to pay one month’s rent for all 160 apartments in a New York Public Housing complex where his grandmother lived before she died. Along the same lines is apartment owner Mario Salerno, who owns 18 apartment buildings in Brooklyn. He cancelled the rent for all of his tenants for the month of April, hoping only to relieve some stress off those living in any of his buildings during this difficult time. I found many other reports of rents being waived as well!
And as people have to at times venture out, there are plenty of reports of people sewing free protective masks for those in need like the Lachance family in Central Maine who have been creating a storm of them for midwives, priests, elderly people, and those with immunity issues from their surrounding community. Joining them are numerous others including Dr. Martina Puzanov and her 12-year old daughter Veronika in Amherst, New York, Tammara Ozee of Harrisburg, Illinois, and an 80-member Shawnee Quilters Guild in Ava, Illinois. Even businesses that normally do clothing repair such as Dang’s Alternations, owned by Nga Nguyen and her husband, have since converted their business into solely making protective masks all while working 14-hour days!
And I mustn’t forget to mention plenty of famous people who are using their wealth to contribute to relief efforts like NBA Charlotte Hornets star Bismack Biyombo donating over $1 million worth of medical supplies to the Congo, or Zion Williamson of the NBA New Orleans Pelicans covering all the salaries of the Smoothie King Center where his games are played, or Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian who opted to forego his own salary for six months to prevent layoffs in his company, or actress Blake Lively and actor Ryan Reynolds who both donated $1 million to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada, or NFL Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara donating 1 million meals throughout Seattle, or Netflix establishing a $150 million relief fund, or Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation donating $5 million to relief efforts, or my personal favorite, Starbucks, who has chosen to pay workers for 30 days, even if they stay home! Credit also to Kylie Jenner for donating $1 million to L.A. hospitals, NFL New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees for donating $5 million to the state of Louisiana, Angelina Jolie for donating $1 million to children affected by the coronavirus, and Oprah Winfrey, Pink, and Paris Hilton all donating millions to the COVID-19 relief efforts as well.
As I searched the internet for other positive news stories surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, I found countless ones of where people have chosen to pay it forward by doing their own random acts of kindness, solely to help make a difference during such a difficult time. While the majority of the mainstream news seems to regularly focus in on all the drama and negativity surrounding this virus, there is a lot of positive news out there, you just have to look for it. I’m thankful I did, because I have a much better outlook now on what people in our country and around the world are doing to help us all make it through!!!
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
