Today I'm sharing this excellent Wall Street Journal Article by Michelle Ma:
How You Can Help
How to Help in the Coronavirus Crisis—and Why You’ll Be Glad You Did
Ways to donate money, goods and your time—and likely improve your own frame of mind at the same time
When you’re down, help others.
Across the country, people suddenly feeling helpless amid the coronavirus pandemic are finding a balm to soothe their stress: Identify a need, and do your best to fill it.
Psychologists and stress researchers have long understood the mental and emotional benefits of doing good. In a 2015 study, Emily Ansell and her team found that performing compassionate acts, even small ones, can help mitigate the negative effects of stress on an individual’s mood and mental health. “Helping others also helps ourselves,” says Dr. Ansell, an associate professor of biobehavioral health at the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.
Helping others can distract us from our own stress, increase our sense of meaning and purpose, and reduce the toll stress takes on our bodies, according to Dr. Ansell. Doing something positive for someone else can also increase our feelings of self-efficacy or control at a time when so much is outside our control.
Nihal Mehta, founding general partner at Eniac Ventures in New York City, knows that feeling. In March, Mr. Mehta assembled a group of volunteer coders, pulled two all-nighters and set up a website called Help Main Street. The page includes a searchable map that allows people to locate and purchase gift cards from local businesses to support them while in quarantine.
Building and maintaining the website has given Mr. Mehta energy and a sense of purpose. “Otherwise, I’d be hitting my head against the wall thinking about what to do,” he says.
Donations surge
People across the country have mobilized to help out where they can.
From March 16 to April 6, the American Red Cross saw a 90% increase in blood-donation appointments, compared with typical numbers. GetUsPPE.org, a group that coordinates donations of personal protective equipment to health-care workers, estimates it has facilitated the donation of more than 500,000 pieces of protective gear. More than 150,000 donors have contributed money to Feeding America’s Covid-19 Response Fund, which is “by far our largest relief effort,” says a spokeswoman for the organization, which represents 200 food banks across the U.S.
Organizers have also set up relief funds nationwide for restaurant workers, domestic workers, farmworkers and others affected by the pandemic, disbursing money directly to applicants based on need. Recovered Covid-19 patients have stepped up, too, donating blood plasma to help others fight the disease.
On a local level, communities have set up mutual-aid networks that connect people directly to neighbors in need. These networks allow volunteers to do everything from pick up groceries or medications for elderly neighbors to help people navigate the unemployment-application process, according to Caroline DeLuca, an organizer with Mutual Aid NYC.
More is needed
But experts say these efforts aren’t enough.
Feeding America estimates a $1.4 billion shortfall for food-bank operations for the next six months. The majority of more than 600 health-care institutions surveyed this month by GetUsPPE.org have less than a two-week supply of personal protective equipment remaining. And blood banks remain concerned about keeping inventory levels stable, as people who donated in March won’t be eligible to donate again until May, and blood that was donated in March will expire at the end of April, according to Kate Fry, chief executive officer of America’s Blood Centers.
Aid groups recommend that those looking to help find out what their communities need most. Before donating masks to a hospital, for example, check on what its health-care workers are looking for and how they want to receive donations. Many health-care workers are putting calls out on GetUsPPE.org with exactly what personal protective equipment they need, as well as where, when and how to drop it off.
People can also help by educating themselves about aid efforts and sharing that information with those who might not be able to access it, according to John deBary, co-founder of the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation. Many of those struggling the most right now have language barriers or don’t have access to smartphones and the internet, says Mr. deBary.
Small gestures help
As child-care and job-security woes affect more people, many may feel they don’t have the time or money to help. Even so, Dr. Ansell’s research suggests individuals can still receive the psychological benefits of helping others, no matter how small the act.
Kindness toward front-line workers can go a long way, says Do Jun Lee,an organizer with Biking Public Project, a group that advocates for delivery cyclists. Dr. Lee suggests people tip more, be patient, and show empathy and gratitude to workers who are often under pressure and putting themselves in danger.
Megan Ranney, a Providence, R.I., emergency physician and one of the founders of GetUsPPE.org, recalls signs of support her neighbors posted on her front lawn: “To know that someone is thinking of you means so much.”
The pandemic is making people aware of how much they depend on each other, and that “even if you’re not in need right now, you will be at some point,” says Ms. DeLuca, who has been working to support the formation of new neighborhood mutual-aid groups in New York City.
“Being able to do something that is helping people is one of the only things that has kept me sane through this,” she says.
WAYS YOU CAN HELP
You can donate to your local food bank or to Covid-19 relief funds set up for restaurant workers, domestic workers and others affected by the pandemic. You can also consider continuing to pay workers who may no longer be able to do their jobs because of stay-at-home orders, like hairdressers, nannies and housecleaners.
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If you have extra masks, gloves or other types of personal protective equipment, you can consider donating them to your local health-care facility or front-line worker.
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Volunteer with your local mutual-aid network or food bank, or schedule a donation of blood. You can also donate convalescent plasma if you have recovered from Covid-19.
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Ms. Ma is the assistant editor of live journalism and special coverage at The Wall Street Journal in New York. She can be reached at michelle.ma@wsj.com.
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