good things that have come from covid-19 + what you can do to help!

pc: maria lloyd photography

a note: this blog is totally a reflection of my thoughts, feelings, and interests, so i thought it would be a good time to give an update on what you can expect from me over the course of the next few weeks. i’ll continue sharing what is important and relevant in my life, in the hopes that it may be in yours as well. please take what works for you and leave the rest. thanks, as always, for reading and following along <3.

the world is a really, really heavy place right now. even before all of the covid-19, things were getting kind of … well … sad on a regular basis. i’m a huge proponent of trying to find the good in everything {trust me, I wasn’t born that way; it takes work and practice}, and wanted to do my part to share some of the good that’s happening, believe it or not. here are a few positive stories i’ve found coming out of this:

this entire post

my SIL shared this on instagram and i had to share it myself. if you head to instagram and swipe through, it’s a bunch of positive and uplifting FACTS about what’s happening with and because of the covid-19, like the fact that the city of detroit is making sure EVERY resident has water.

delta ceo is forgoing his own salary

in the wake of the covid-19 and the dropoff in airline demand, ed bastian, ceo of delta, is giving up six months of his own salary starting immediately. now, we could all sit here and wonder if there was more that could be done (and i’m sure there will be), but if i were to step up at a moment’s notice and say i’d work for free for half a year, i’d say that’s doing a pretty significant part. not to mention, it’s all a snowball effect, right? companies build on other companies doing the right and good thing.

target keeping stores open

speaking of stores doing the right thing, target announced last week that they will be doing what they can to keep the stores open. i may be a hq employee, but i’m truly a target shopper and appreciate the stores for what they are – an inviting respite from the chaos of the oustide world. i can tell you that as a mom, and just a citizen of this planet, it’s comforting to know that i can still stop at target and pick up baby formula, wipes, food for my family, and still hit up the dollar spot to zone out for just a second. call it frivolous, but in a time of great uncertainty, target provides a familiar and friendly place to maintain some normalcy. note: i’m a target employee, but all opinions are my own.

nba standouts supporting those put out of work

various members of the nba, as well as those involved with the teams, have dedicated money to those hourly workers that won’t be collecting a paycheck during the shut down. mark cuban is taking that a step further and reimbursing all employees who eat at locally owned independent restaurants. this is amazing, because there are so many who are concerned with the next few days/weeks, but stimulating the economy and thinking even longer term is important as well.

but what can i do?

• buy gift cards or takeout from your local independently owned restaurant
• support small businesses you would have bought by purchasing gift cards. oh! and keep shopping online to support those businesses.
• look at the blessing in this: you will likely get to be spending some extra time with those you love.
• THANK THE PEOPLE WORKING. i thanked the guy that was checking me out at trader joe’s this weekend, just for coming into work, and he stopped what he was doing and just stared at me. we proceeded to have a full on conversation, but he was so taken aback that i had thanked him for doing his job. these people are also risking their health to make sure the rest of us can live comfortably, so thank any and all service workers you come into contact with.
• be cognizant of and thank the medical and healthcare workers. where many of us sat around wondering if and when we would go to work from home/educate from home status, they never even had that thought. they are the front lines of this, and are the real heroes. let’s not only thank them, but allow them to do their jobs well.
• get to know facts. not like social media facts, but REAL facts. check out the cdc and other credible websites before you go spouting off conjecture from uncle so-and-so that you saw on facebook.
• similarly, follow recommendations set from credible sources. there are a million and one pieces of advice out there, but do your research and make sure you are taking proper precautions.
• check in with your loved ones! i texted my grandma this weekend to see if there’s anything i could grab her, and like i suspected, she was well-stocked and taken care of since she’s an independent, technologically-savvy woman, but didn’t hurt to ask.
• remember that we are all in this together. everyone is scared, confused, and unsure. we all cope differently [i cope by reading and sharing copious amounts of memes], so let’s just all be good humans.

a note: this blog is totally a reflection of my thoughts, feelings, and interests, so i thought it would be a good time to give an update on what you can expect from me over the course of the next few weeks. i’ll continue sharing what is important and relevant in my life, in the hopes that it may be in yours as well. please take what works for you and leave the rest. thanks, as always, for reading and following along <3.