Instead of politicizing this pandemic against each other (mindlessly and stupidly) we should join forces and verbally and digitally berate communist China for their statist incompetency that costs thousands of lives. I’ve written about this here and here and covered it extensively on air.

This may not be resolved in 14 days and if it isn’t? The situation is what it is and freaking out won’t improve it, it will just make you feel worse. This is a fluid situation, we’re at square one with an unknown, mutated virus, so things will change quickly and we will have an information overload. If this stresses you, focus on the positive.

Focus on:

Italians serenading their countrymen from their balconies during isolation (this from Italian tenor Maurizio Marchini, singing from his balcony, is amazing)

a woman creating postcards to help isolated neighbors with groceries; and this woman who helped an elderly couple too afraid to enter store get groceries

neighbors stepping up to help each other in time of need even to offer childcare help

or this Washington restauranteur helping his employees laid off due to coronavirus

this is our time to shine (and scientifically, it’s supported!)

China is on the other side of this (if anything they say is to be believed). South Korea is, too. We are about to hit a rough patch, and it’s going to be bumpy, but if our great-grandparents and grandparents were able to get through WWII, rationing, and the greater losses they endured, we surely can make them proud and power through this.

 

Ways to Help

If you need help do not hesitate to ask for it. If you can help, do not hesitate to offer it. Some people will refrain asking others for the help they truly need for fear of burdening people with their problems or needs. Don’t even give them the chance, offer.

First and foremost, stay home as much as possible beyond getting food and medicines. Starve this thing of your body as a host.

Order curbside a few times through the week and tip like you were sitting inside and had the best service of your life.

Pay ahead for a haircut or for the dog groomer, and tip well.

Order gift certificates from local businesses as part of your effort to start your Christmas shopping early.

Ask your local food banks what they need.

Ask your homeless shelters what they need.

Ask the animal shelters what they need, also.

Give extra in the plate on Sunday, whether you are in the sanctuary or watching digitally from home. These are the people who run towards the plagues, the fires, the destruction like the second century Christians before them.

Generosity doesn’t require an invitation and shouldn’t wait for one.

Thank your grocer and those ringing up your groceries. They never planned to be on a front line in any pandemic, but here they are, touching a conveyer belt that many before you have, touching money that many have touched, working as fast as they can to get you through the line. Look them in the eye and thank them.

If you can, volunteer to help with childcare for those who still must work but cannot find or pay for care now that schools are on lockdown.

Thank your garbage men. Thank your postal workers. Your food delivery drivers. Your Amazon delivery person. Thank your first responders. Your law enforcement. Thank your teachers and principals who were forced to abandon classrooms at the start of spring, people who watched our kids head back home one afternoon with tears in their eyes and uncertainty in their hearts ad they now grapple with how we will recover this semester. An please, for the love of everything holy, thank your nurses, your doctors, the people like a dear friend of mine who are pulling shifts with more hours than I can imagine and are gearing up to put in even more. They have families at home, families they leave in safe isolation as they brave the full force of a pandemic, the severity of which is beyond their control. The only thing in their control: How they care for those who suffer it.

All of these people right now are forming the arteries and veins of our collective, national body.

While we’re all at home, invest as much as you can into your family. Cook, bake, play games, help them with their online classwork. I am so grateful we homeschooled for so many years because this temporarily re-situated learning environment is not an unknown to us. Cherish the time you have because when this is over, life will shift into high gear, perhaps more than before for awhile, as everyone plays catch-up.

Grades and makeup work will be determined, graduations, all of it. Focus on what you can control and give to God what you can’t. Give each other grace.
2 Corinthians 12:9.

You’re not in it alone.

I discussed this on air today:

Do you need help with grocery deliveries or do you need help? Head here.

More (full list in link):

Feeding America: This organization helps feed communities and individuals facing hunger across the United States through a nationwide network of food banks.
Donate here.

No Kid Hungry: With coronavirus forcing mass school closures across the country, millions of children are losing the daily meals they depend on. No Kid Hungry uses donations to send emergency grants to food banks and local community groups. It diverts resources to feed kids in the hardest-hit communities. The organization also has plans in place to ensure families know how to find food while schools are closed and making sure kids get three meals a day.
Donate here.

Meals on Wheels: This organization delivers meals to the country’s elderly population. Many of its local programs are struggling with the additional costs of delivering meals during the outbreak. You can find ways to help a local program here or donate to the national organization here.

NYC organizations: You can donate to several New York City–based food relief organizations that are working to ensure meals are delivered to the city’s elderly population or those who are too sick to cook or shop for food. Citymeals is taking donations to ensure “every one of our homebound elderly neighbors in need has nourishing meals during this dangerous outbreak.” This GoFundMe is raising money on behalf of Food Bank for New York City, which will help adults and children in the city who are most affected by the outbreak. God’s Love We Deliver, a nonsectarian organization that prepares and delivers “nutritious and medically tailored meals” to people living with illnesses, is looking for both volunteers as well as donations to sponsor their emergency meal bags of “shelf-stable food” to their clients.

The American Red Cross: As the number of coronavirus cases increases in the US, the number of people eligible to give blood and platelets for patients in need could decrease further, the Red Cross said. The organization is urging all eligible, healthy donors to donate blood and platelets to help maintain a sufficient blood supply flow and avoid potential shortages.
Make an appointment here.

Also:

The Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation started a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund to support restaurant workers and their families

USBG Foundation are raising funds to assist bartenders