Through social media, grass-roots groups are coming together in communities across the country to aid in the pandemic response by supporting both frontline responders and struggling businesses. Here are some of the ways communities are helping each other during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Frontline Appreciation Group
Regional Facebook groups are popping up across the country to help those in need through this crisis. Front Line Appreciation Group (FLAG) has groups in most major cities. The Detroit group is assisting struggling restaurant owners by buying food and delivering them to healthcare workers at hospitals. Community members donate to the Facebook group, which, then allows the group of volunteers to buy food and for restaurants to deliver the food to the people on the frontline treating COVID-19. Recently, the group delivered around 400 meals to Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital. This type of grass-roots effort not only helps medical staff risking their lives to keep the rest of us safe, it also helps business owners who are struggling to stay afloat during the quarantine. As of today, $158,000 has been raised, over $130,000 has been spent at local restaurants, and there have been over 19,000 meals provided.
Activist Monica Toumey started the Facebook group as a way to pay it forward during the coronavirus pandemic. Crises have a way of making people feel insignificant. Coming together as a community gives you a sense of purpose while also giving you something positive to focus on at a time when all of us are scared and anxious. Other similar Facebook groups have popped up in cities around the United States as communities strive to provide support during these challenging times.
Keeping Spirits High
Facebook groups like FLAG allow community members to volunteer in support of healthcare workers without leaving their houses. The volunteer work these groups are doing isn’t just about the food or the financial support, it is also about keeping the morale of the community high. It helps people on the frontline fighting COVID-19 to know their community appreciates the important work they are doing.
The coronavirus outbreak has put stress on communities across the country, unlike anything in modern times. It is during a crisis when communities have to come together and support each other. Social media groups are one tool community leaders are using to coordinate volunteer efforts to support healthcare workers, small businesses, and other community members who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is going to take a community effort to combat the coronavirus, but if we work together, we will see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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