Hey y'all!
As many of you know I am a pageant girl and a Jesus freak and one of the biggest lessons both of those things have taught me is the importance of serving others. During this global pandemic service projects and volunteering opportunities have definitely been reduced/altered. Which stinks because we should be serving others now more than ever. So I thought it would be a great idea to list out some of the ways you can help!
Contact your local churches and see if you could help with small virtual small groups. A lot of summer camp and mission plans have been canceled and some kids really rely on the community that church brings.
Since we don't know yet what all school will look like in the fall we can try to be proactive and contact local school districts and teacher friends and offer to engage with their students in their virtual class time. Reading to classes on Zoom or even hosting small talk for a grade about your platform could probably be helpful. Curriculum may not look exactly the same during this next semester while schools are trying to continue to abide by any remaining CDC restrictions. So adapting to these changes in curriculum would be easier than feeling like you won't get to talk to groups of students again.
Volunteer with Feeding America! And for my Texas friends I've made it super easy for you: Volunteer with the Central Texas Food Bank! They are a member of Feeding America and do a wonderful job of assisting those in our great state fight hunger. To make things even easier again: here's a link for volunteer info!
Don't want to go in person? That's cool too! I don't know what your situation is! So here's an amazing option for helping at home: donate to this virtual food drive! The next goal is $600 and the overall goal is $3,000! Link:
Or, start your own virtual food drive! Here's the link to do that:
Donate clothes! Spring cleaning and quarantine lined up quite nicely this year, and it has forced me to really take stock of what I do and do not need. I have already donated 4 rather large bags of clothing and while it may sound like I'm bragging I am more shook that I even had that much to donate. And I'm not even done clearing out my closet??? My mum has always called me a hoarder but I didn't believe her until now. So! Where can you donate your clothes? If you live in the central Texas area there is a donation bin in the parking lot of Lakeline Mall and a Savers off of Lakeline Blvd! You can also donate to local women's shelters. Again, if you live in the central Texas area here's a link to an awesome local resource where you can donate money, clothes, food (their pantry may be closed at the moment), vehicles, and your time by volunteering:
Offering to shop for anyone you may know that is at greater risk for contracting the virus would also be a great way to help out. Just because things are opening back up again does not mean that the vulnerable population is any less scared, or any less vulnerable. Reach out to your church or any other local community groups that are gathering information on who needs help in your area.
You could also take up the now popular hobby of making masks! If you personally don't need that many, you could donate your extras to family, friends, or hospitals. A great resource in the Austin area is makeamaskaustin.org! This page from their site has step by step instructions on how to make a mask, as well as donation information:
While this list obviously doesn't cover everything you can do, it's still a start for anyone that has been looking for small ways to help from home. Personally the virtual food drive, clothes donations, and mask making has helped me stay productive and helpful even while cooped up in my house. Taking stock of what I have and what I am grateful for has been a big eye opener when I also look at the fact that many people do not have the privilege I do. Recognizing that I am fortunate enough to have the resources I do to take care of myself and my family is the first step towards humbling myself to the fact that others are stressed and scared still because of this pandemic. While I could probably go out in public and start hanging out with friends again and not get really sick, I will carry anything I pick up to others. If I carry something to someone that cannot battle diseases the way I can, it would be devastating. Yes it gets boring being at home, no you should not live in fear, but you can and should continue to be respectful.
Thank y'all so much for reading this post and I hope that if you've been looking for something to do this helps point you in the right direction! Comment if you try any of these tips or if you have been doing something from home that I didn't mention.