Hope Notes: Everyone Counts
“That is the message an epidemic brings home:
How vulnerable we all are,
How much we depend on the considerate behavior of others,
And ultimately,
How, through joint action, we can protect ourselves
and offer one another encouragement and support.
Every individual counts.”
(German Chancellor Angela Merkel, 19 Mar 2020)
Complex problems take time to solve. And for each complex problem, we each have different things to contribute.
Sometimes our best individual answer to a complex problem is a choice to hold back - to stay home, to avoid sharing misinformation, to take only what we need.
Another answer might be simply doing what we can to hold it together for ourselves and our loved ones, to get through this day and then try another.
And a further great answer might be to hold in our awareness the work that people in our community are making right now toward solving this problem - healthcare workers and scientists, yes, and also grocery store clerks, delivery drivers, and people working on farms and in factories and warehouses.
We did not know all these people would form the front lines of our response to this moment. Yet our hope can help us see that with their support, and in taking proper care of them from where we are, we will have everything we need.
Road to Recovery
As of yesterday, there are at least 111,895 people worldwide who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have fully recovered. This is an increase of 17,720 since our last edition, and it’s also the first time the number of recovered people has exceeded 100,000. An unknown number more have encountered the virus on their own and made a full recovery. We hope for strength in those who are actively suffering right now, in the healthcare workers giving vital care, and in the lives of everyone who has lost a loved one or friend in the midst of this crisis.
Good Moves
How people are practicing generosity, ingenuity, and love around us right now.
A note on the protective equipment: This is a great time to check your garage and basement to see if you have a few extra N95 masks, or some boxes of vinyl or nitrile gloves laying around. If you have any on hand, reach out to a doctor or nurse in your community to see how you can donate them. Any medical practice of any kind can use more of these items - primary care, specialists, you name it.
Real Ones Do Real Things
Self-organizing for the long haul in support of others.
World Central Kitchen is a relief organization founded by Chef Jose Andres in 2010. They organize local chefs and commercial kitchens to provide meals for people in disaster areas. If the local kitchens are unavailable, they fly in equipment and set up their own.
Shea Serrano first caught my attention with his amazing writing in Grantland and then The Ringer - funny, heartfelt, and relatable. His FOH Army of readers has given away over $300,000 to other readers and people in need online. (The acronym “FOH” stands for F—k Outta Here, an old joke among his readers.) What’s great about his approach is that he directly connects people who need money with those able to give, usually in small amounts transferred over Venmo or CashApp. Anyway, follow him on Twitter to get in on the game.
Last time around I mentioned our family’s effort to create fabric surgical masks for doctors and nurses in our area. Fashion designer Christian Siriano is rallying the NYC fashion industry to make masks and gowns for the healthcare workers in their region.
Who else do you see out there organizing collective efforts? Let me know.
And Finally…
This is the most sparkly, Blues Brothers inspired Catholic Mass I’ve ever seen.
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Hang in there, friends.
- Michael
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