How can I help our community right now?
I’ll be honest: I didn’t think too much about that at the start of the COVID-19 response efforts.
Due to my job, I felt the impact of the response a little sooner than some of the folks around me. It hit the department I work in about a week or so before things really started changing. That time period, for me, was very much a fight or flight kind of thing.
But the deeper we moved into response efforts, I found myself thinking more about this question.
Over the last few weeks, we have been taking some steps to, well…try to help.
They are admittedly small things, so much so that I debated whether I should write about them at all. But after reading a few posts by others about what they’re doing, I decided…well, why not? Doing something small is still doing something. It all counts.
So here’s a snapshot of some of the things we’re doing to try to help our community right now.
How we are trying to help our community during the COVID-19 pandemic
As with most of my posts related to COVID-19, I want to start with a disclaimer of sorts.
It is not lost on me how fortunate we are. Both our jobs transitioned into work from home arrangements with little difficulty and I am very grateful for that. I know that has not been the case for everyone and that sucks. There’s really no other way to put it.
With that in mind, and as with most things I share on this blog, I’m writing to talk about our experience and what we’ve been doing, not to suggest you should be doing the same thing. We’re all in this together, sure, but we’re also all experiencing this situation differently.
Here are some of the things we’re doing to try and help our community right now.
Buying our produce from a local farm
We do most of our grocery shopping at Atlantic Superstore, but for the last several weeks, we have been ordering our produce (and eggs) from a local farm.
At first, the process to do this involved picking items from the list of what they offered and sending an email with your order. After about four weeks, they launched an online shopping platform to simplify the process even further.
The turnaround time is typically about 24 hours and they send a confirmation email the day your order is going out. The delivery window is 3-11 p.m., and they deliver right to the door, where you can pay with cash, debit or credit card or even eTransfer.
It’s seriously been so easy. The staff have been awesome to work with and, added bonus, we have been super impressed with the food we’ve received!
Repurposing our gym money
Our gym closed in mid-March. Since then, we’ve been using money that would usually pay for our membership to support local charities — in particular, our community kitchen.
Along with doing the work one would expect, our local community kitchen runs what’s known as the student hunger program, which aims to eradicate student hunger through a variety of different activities, including a lunch program and a service that allows students to take home backpacks filled with non-perishable food items.
Our ability to use a gym membership disappeared, but these needs didn’t. It’s not a huge amount of money, but I really believe that every bit counts.
Spending strategically to support small business
I’ve been on a six-month shopping ban since January 2020.
My goal with this challenge was less about not buying things and more about being mindful about how I spend my money. I knew I wasn’t going to be perfect, and I was OK with that.
For the first three months, I did alright — a few out of scope purchases here and there, but for the most, I did well to stick with purchases that fell into the “allowed” categories for the ban.
In April, I made a conscious decision to loosen the reins a little to support some small shops. This included small orders with my favourite planner sticker shops and ordering a bracelet from a local jewelry maker. I recapped all my spending for the month in this post and I have no regrets.
Sharing positivity and kindness
Saying thank you to staff at the grocery store. Leaving positive reviews online. Waving and saying hello to people when we’re out for a walk on the trail (and, you know, giving them the space they need to practice social distancing).
These are simple things, but with everything that’s going on, I feel like they make a difference.
And the best thing? You can do all these things for free.
Staying home
Of course, the biggest thing we are doing to help our community is the thing everyone should be doing: listening to health experts and, as the Nova Scotia premier put it, staying the blazes home.
It’s not always fun or exciting but it’s an effective thing we all can do!
Final Thoughts
These are a few of the things we’re doing to try to help our community right now. They aren’t big things, but I have always been a believer in the idea that it all counts — even the small things. Now, more than ever, I hope that’s true.
How are you doing?
I love this list! I had originally been paying my gym membership because my gym announced it was still paying employees their regular salary when we initially closed. I figured I’m still getting paid, so these people should too. After several payments (my gym is expensive!), I felt like I was wasting money on a service I couldn’t use, so I ceased payments, thinking it’d help cover the expensive rebounder I bought. Plus I’m not sure I’ll return once these restrictions lift – I actually like working out at home, especially with Walk At Home! But I didn’t think about using that money towards donations. That’s a great idea! Thank you! I’ll have to consider that option.
My favorite coffee shop reopened (FINALLY), so I’ve been trying to stop by there when possible to support them and buy the biggest cappuccino I can to give them some business. I’d been going to Dunkin’ and occasionally Starbucks because they were the only ones open, but I’d rather support the smaller places. (Dunkin’ is franchised-owned, so I don’t mind supporting those either, since they’re locally owned).
Anyway, I agree as people who are employed that we should help keep others afloat. I wish I had a farm option. I started looking into it, but couldn’t find anything that was reasonable enough for a single person. They tend to sell A LOT of produce per one order.
See, our gym (part of a national chain) closed all its operations across the country and froze memberships — we didn’t even have an option to keep paying. I’m not sure if they are still paying their staff or not; I hope so, although if not, there are a few different options here in Canada for individuals who have lost employment. I love that you’re still loving Walk at Home! I like it because it totally takes away the excuse to not do it — which is often my biggest downfall haha.
Hooray for coffee shops reopening! That is one thing that will be nice about getting back to the office: more coffee options. I have had Starbucks a few times over the last few weeks, but most of the time, I made my own at home. I ended up getting a Torani syrup to add to my homemade cold brew, which has been nice. Next thing on my list is to find the Oreo International Delight creamer. Mmm. I love coffee so much haha.
The produce: that’s why I love how the farm we’re buying from is doing things. They basically list what they have on the site and you shop for what you need. They have a few different deals, which is nice, but the base prices are pretty reasonable, too. They have also been working with some other market vendors to help them sell and distribute products (for example, we buy our eggs through this service but they actually come from another place). I’m going to be sad when home delivery ends, although I guess that will mean we’ll just have to start waking up to go to the market on the weekend.
re: keeping others afloat — the way I see it, it is in a way the least I can do. It has been a bit at odds with the goal of not shopping, but I feel OK with the exceptions that I have made over the last few weeks. We have all “lost” things due to this pandemic, but some have definitely lost more than others. I considered us to very much be in the category of people whose lives have been inconvenienced in the most minor way so it’s important to me that we do what we can to make life better for those who can’t say that right now.
This was such a lovely, uplifting post. Now that I’m getting over my shock and sadness about the whole Covid situation, I’m also taking action on small ways I can help.
As you know, we’ve been ordering produce through a local small business that pivoted from supplying restaurants. It helps us because we can avoid shopping in store, but it also keeps a small business alive and maintains jobs in my local community. We all win!
Donations are also top of mind for us right now. My husband and I decided to set aside a chunk of money to allocate to this. But we agreed that donations don’t just have to go to charities. Tips for delivery people, money for buskers, and gift cards for needy families all count as well.
In a time when so much is out of our control, it’s helped me so much to make a small difference in a few people’s lives.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this important topic.
I love that you’re including tips for delivery folks, money for buskers and gift cards for families in need as part of your giving — SO important and it can be so easy for those things to get lost in the shuffle. While I’ve never worked a gig that meant I relied on tips to make up a portion of my income, I have friends who have and…well, it’s exactly that. A lot of people count on that to make up for the fact that these jobs are grossly underpaid. I was talking to a friend about this the other day and I will be interested to see if anything changes re: pay levels for some of the gigs we quickly realized are, in fact, essential.
Glad the shock and sadness is lifting, my friend. Take care!