5 Ways You Can Help Fight Pandemic Without Leaving Home
Hily piled up practical tips with links and examples anybody can use.
With self-quarantine becoming our new normal, the role of the World Health Day (April 7th) has increased significantly. This year, the theme is ‘Support nurses and midwives.’ So, Hily encourages you to thank medical workers who are exposing themselves to the risk to save the lives of others. Make sure their hard work doesn’t go in vain, stay home!
However, that’s not the only thing you can do.
In case you were wondering how to give back to your community amid coronavirus pandemic, here are a few tips where to begin.
Teach What You Know Online
Have you ever thought of becoming a blogger or even a vlogger? Now you’ve got plenty of time to create content that can be useful to others. You don’t have to be a professional teacher or coach. Your skill doesn’t have to be medicine-related.
Do you cook fantastic spaghetti? There are lots of people who can’t eat in restaurants now and would love to learn how to cook Italian food. Can you sing? Just make your friends’ feed a bit brighter with your songs or have a short concert on the balcony. Even if it seems like there’s absolutely no skill you can share, look again! People are reading books for children online, sharing freelancing, or parenting tips on Instagram.
You can do something like that, right? What matters is the genuine intention to help.
Volunteer
You still don’t have to go out for that.
We have now entered an era of the Virtual Volunteer, says Sarah Hamilton, Social Impact Expert. Sarah wrote the whole article on online volunteering with different ways of making the difference even from your couch. You can join Translators Without Borders or even UN volunteer movement, participate in research programs, and identify human rights violations. Interested? Read everything about it here.
Rebecca Bloom, editorial director of Amava.com, offered some other ideas you can look up:
- Using video, document sharing, and email technology, you can tutor students and help out teachers and parents. People are all trying to adjust quickly, and if you have some experience teaching, coaching, or tutoring, you might be able to help.
- Call local nursing homes and see about setting up video calls with residents who aren’t getting visitors.
- If you’re a reader, you can set up a virtual book club.
- If you have neighbors who are isolating or quarantining, set up a group to drop off food at intervals. Maybe we can’t group hug right now, but we can still feed each other.
Donate
It doesn’t have to be money (but money is great too, see here).
Books you’ve already read can be great presents to neighboring teenagers or elderly (remember about social distancing). You have probably organized your wardrobe and found some long-forgotten clothes by now. Give away your small jeans or shirts, even on your social media pages.
You can also donate personal protective equipment here or help medical students at the University of Arizona College of Medicine produce 3D printed masks.
Are you a canner, gardener, or a ball-jar person? Share those jams, jellies, sauces, veggies, fruit, herbs and nut butter around, says Rebecca Bloom.
Due to the pandemic, job losses hit millions of people who have families, anything you can offer will do.
Support Small Businesses
Consider buying from those who are now going through trouble. Buy a gift card, share something positive on social media, like a post, tell a friend about the great business, says psychologist Dr. Tamar Blank.
See if your favorite small coffee shops or corner art shops have any special propositions where every 10%, 20%, or even 50% percent of your purchase goes to charity. With those, you can both support their business and donate to fighting against COVID-19.
Check In
Our love and support are the most important things we can share at this time.
Call and message people to check in. Every day. Check in with the older people that you know. Even if you are not close with them, check in. Check in with anyone that lives alone or has children. Ask about the experience of the other, says psychologist Dr. Tamar Blank.
It’s time to give and share. Being productive and helpful at the same time can soothe stress and bring a sense of happiness.
Meet people online on Hily, don’t stop your love search because of the pandemic!
Download the Hily dating app here.
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