If you are at home and well, you can still help during the coronavirus pandemic.
Every day is different. And we’re adjusting.
‘Normal’ life is probably never going to be exactly the same again. Times like these cause temporary changes that can lead to some long-lasting effects.
I have tons of questions buzzing around in my brain.
- Will we wear masks when we leave the house?
- Will kids regularly wash their hands without being asked?
- Will more people be asked to permanently work from home?
- Will more kids be homeschooled, even after schools reopen?
- Will we shake hands again?
- Will we stop prioritizing our screens over the real life interactions of loved ones?
- Will we want to hug each other more, because we miss each other? Or less because we are scared?
The questions are endless. The uncertainty is endless. The news is endless.
While it’s easy to watch the never-ending updates on the 24-hour news channels, live stream the local press conferences, and scroll endlessly through social media to talk about the pandemic with friends, it’s probably not the healthiest way to spend this time at home.
I’ve been seeking out ways that we can help make a difference during the coronavirus pandemic. Taking action can help not only make a difference, it can also boost our own immune systems because of the bolt of happiness and productivity that we feel.
So how can we help during the coronavirus pandemic?
Boost your immune system.
This first way to help is personal. Eat healthy food, sleep at least 7 hours every night, and exercise daily, so your immune system stays strong.
During a health crisis, whether it’s a global pandemic or a personal battle with cancer, it’s important to lower stress and make healthy choices. Yes, the extra stress of worrying about loved ones and the entire world can increase our desire for sweets and keeps us up at night worrying. And while it’s ok to have a treat periodically, your body will have a harder time fighting off illness if you fuel up on junk food all day, every day.
Seriously, we’ve heard this from so many experts. The more of us who are working hard to social distance and boost our healthiness, the better our world can be. So grab some green leafy veggies and take a stroll through the rest of this list of helpful actions that you can do to make a difference right now.
Make masks.
Can you sew? If you know how to sew, you can make cotton masks at home. You may have seen some of the instructions being shared from so many different places online. I’ve used the how-to instructions on fabric choice and sewing steps from JOANN.
With the goal of making 100 million masks, many of JOANN’s stores are offering ‘Take & Make’ mask kits for free curbside pickup. Each kit has enough material for about 5 masks. If you have an organization that wants to volunteer to make larger amounts of masks, they ask that you send a note to joannplus@joann.com.
Volunteer for Meals on Wheels.
Understandably, many volunteers for nonprofits have decided to shelter-in-place and are unable to do their normal volunteer work. This means that Meals on Wheels has been asking for new volunteers to help deliver meals to your local seniors. Meal delivery is contactless. They are left on the doorstep, just like grocery delivery.
And while Meals on Wheels is supported with government funding, it depends on its volunteers to serve 220 million meals to 2.4 million seniors every year. If you’d like to learn more, the Meals on Wheels website can direct you to your community’s provider.
Share skills to help other parents homeschool
The coronavirus pandemic has affected about 55 million students who attend 124,000 United States public and private schools. This means that a lot of kids are at home, social distancing from friends, and learning how to work remotely. While about 1.7 million kids have been homeschooling since the start of the school year, it’s a whole new world for so many families.
If you are lucky, your child has had an e-learning plan from school since the beginning of the school closure. We waited about 2 weeks for our school district to get their plans organized and shared with students.
Most parents aren’t an expert in every subject that their kids are studying. We are all in the same boat on this one. In addition to the resources that your school shares or online tours of museums and zoos, there are homeschool websites that offer ideas for specific subjects like art or science online.
Homeschoolers have always shared expert skills with other local homeschoolers. You can share your skills online among friends. If you are awesome at math, but not so stellar at art, you can swap helping a friend’s child through FaceTime or Zoom chats.
If you are noticing that your child just doesn’t have enough to do, there are resources that homeschoolers have relied on before the pandemic started. Check out homeschool.org. They have broken down the different ways parents can approach homeschooling, with resources to back up your chosen approach.
Donate blood
The American Red Cross has had to cancel up to 2700 local blood drives during the pandemic. This means there are 86,000 fewer blood donations. While this is to ensure the safety of everyone social distancing, they still rely on blood donations. The blood collected helps people who need surgery, cancer patients, and people who are victims of accidents. The shortages will create even larger strains on our healthcare system, and seriously affect the lives of people who need the help.
During the pandemic, they are asking healthy people to donate blood. They have adopted new measures to ensure the safety of donors. These include distancing the beds, providing hand sanitizer, and checking the temperature of donors before they enter.
The RedCrossBlood.org website has a zip code search so you can find out about local donation opportunities.
Show support for First Responders, Emergency Medical Personnel, and National Guardsmen
If you want to help the first responders in cities and states most impacted by coronavirus, you can. Through the work of Operation Gratitude, you can write thank you letters, make paracord bracelets, and donate items to fill care packages.
Since 2003, Operation Gratitude has packed and shipped more than 2.5 million care packages to support Americans who serve our nation. During this pandemic, they have already sent packages to more than 50,000, and are planning to send 5 million items to front-line responders across the nation. To find out more about what you can do, visit OperationGratitude.org.
What are some other ways we can help during the coronavirus pandemic?
