If you need a ray of sunlight in these dark times, consider the magnitude of the human capacity for charity and voluntary action as we help one another through a time of crisis. Individuals, private organizations and businesses across the United States have stepped forward to offer assistance to those in need amid the novel coronavirus emergency. Voluntary cooperation and compassion are proving to be some of the most potent weapons we have in tackling the pandemic.
Technology and social media have allowed for better coordination of charitable efforts and volunteer work. Across America, online groups have popped up to help people exchange needed supplies, information related to the virus and to arrange volunteer work. For example, in my own local area, the “DC‐Area COVID-19 Grocery Getters” Facebook group helps to coordinate volunteers to deliver groceries for elderly or immuno‐compromised individuals.
Similar groups offer free online tutoring to help students learn remotely or arrange for volunteers to deliver meals, which are donated by restaurants, to hospital workers. One innovative online group matches owners of RV trailers that are sitting idle with healthcare workers who need a place to self‐isolate after long hospital shifts so they don’t infect vulnerable family members. And hundreds of thousands of volunteers are donating their computers’ spare power toward virus research through projects like “Folding at Home.”
Many individuals have donated face masks and other supplies to medical workers while volunteer groups have also emerged to coordinate the making of new masks for donation by using 3D printers or by sewing. Such generosity is not limited to individuals. Organizations ranging from the Washington National Cathedral operated by the Episcopal Church to the financial services company Goldman Sachs have donated troves of N95 masks from their own supply closets to help address the shortage of such masks among medical professionals.
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/charity-rises-occasion-amid-pandemic
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