Make us Smile - COVID-19 Heartwarming Community Stories

[LittleMe Jewell]

We've talked about our fears and we have a thread for discussing our feelings.  We even have a thread for venting about what is going wrong.  

However, we all need some good in our lives, something to make us smile and help us get through it all.  What heartwarming community stories have you read lately?  What stories have helped you maintain your faith in humanity despite all the crud that has also pissed you off or scared the heck out of you? 

These are the things that tell us 'No matter what, we will endure and come out the other side".   I read this in yesterday's news:

 

[Tolya Ugajin]

My company adapted one of our production lines to make tents and similar items for local hospitals, and will soon be making masks for our employees and local health care workers.  Fortunately, most of our products and services are for "essential" industries, so we have yet to lay anyone off, despite large numbers of office staff (myself included) who are demonstrably far less productive than before the shelter in place orders.  I've also been pleasantly surprised by how few of our employees are exploiting the situation and our exceedingly generous response to it.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Not far from where I live is a small greasy spoon diner that is open all night, and is reasonably well known in the city for that reason, and for the excellence of its breakfasts. It's tiny -- it seats maybe 15 to 20 people at stools along the counter (it looks a fair bit like Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks") and if you pass by at 3am (as I sometimes have) you'll see that it's actually busier then that it is at dinner time, mostly with police and late night partiers, rubbing elbows.

A couple of weeks ago they, along with nearly all of the restaurants in Toronto, were ordered closed by the provincial government. This is unprecedented, you understand: this place literally never closes. It was an index, in a way, of how serious everything was.

Last Friday, as I walked by the place, I noticed a sign, announcing that that coming Sunday morning, they'd be giving out 150 free take-away "breakfast kits," consisting each of (I think) a half a dozen eggs, a half a loaf of bread, and a quantity of bacon; there followed a series of instructions detailing how they'd be doing this, while ensuring social distancing, safety, and so forth.

This was their "thank you" to a city they've been serving for almost 70 years, and that was now in crisis. It was about community.

I haven't eaten there in years. When this is over, I'll be returning. For a Sunday breakfast.

Edited April 8, 2020 by Scylla Rhiadra

[Lindal Kidd]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/30/us/minnesota-trooper-n95-masks-doctor-trnd/index.html

[Seicher Rae]

Different people need different things at different times, so having various posting topics is a good thing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/03/31/newspaper-delivery-man-brings-groceries-his-older-customers-morning-route-no-extra-charge

By Cathy Free 

March 31, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. EDT

Days after New Jersey residents were ordered to stay at home last week because of the coronavirus, Sandy and John Driska were running low on groceries. Going out for food shopping seemed precarious since she had bronchitis and he was fighting Parkinson’s disease.

Then Sandy Driska, 72, who lives in the central New Jersey township of Cranbury, heard through a friend that an acquaintance who subscribed to the local Newark newspaper, the Star-Ledger, found a typed note rolled up in her morning paper.

“My name is Greg Dailey and I deliver your newspaper every morning,” the note began. “I understand during these trying times it is difficult for some to get out of their house to get everyday necessities. I would like to offer my services free of charge to anyone who needs groceries, household products, etc. I will be shopping at ShopRite and [McCaffrey’s] and can deliver the goods directly to your front door."

It included his phone number. She was skeptical, but she reached out anyway because she was feeling desperate.

“I thought, ‘Oh, he’s too good to be true,’ ” Sandy Driska said. “But then I called Greg, and he delivered $302 of groceries to the front of my garage the very next day.”

She thanked him and wrote him a check. He didn’t charge her a penny more than what her groceries cost.

“What a godsend this man has been,” she said.

Greg Dailey delivers groceries to one of his newspaper customers in East Windsor, N.J., while keeping a safe distance. (Erin Dailey)

Dailey, 50, is a self-described “shy guy,” who would just as soon volunteer to have his teeth drilled than draw attention to himself, according to those who know him.

But when he noticed that an older customer didn’t want to walk down to the sidewalk to pick up her morning newspaper after the coronavirus pandemic arrived in New Jersey, it made him think there must be plenty of people on his route who were afraid to leave their home — even for necessities.

“I was at the grocery store a couple of days later and started thinking about this 88-year-old lady and an idea just popped into my head,” said Dailey, a newspaper carrier for 25 years who lives in East Windsor, N.J.

“I called her up and said, ‘Hi, this is Greg, your newspaper guy — I’m at the store, do you need anything?’ ” Dailey said. “She asked me to pick up a couple of things, and then she called me back and said, ‘Could you also get some brown eggs and bananas for the Millers across the street?’ ”

After dropping off the groceries, Dailey sat down at his computer and typed out an offer to shop for all 800 of his newspaper customers, and anyone else in his delivery area who might need a little help.

Some grocery stores deliver, but it can take days or weeks to get a delivery slot, if any are available at all. Customers have to figure out how to place their orders online, which can be confusing, and then there are delivery fees and tips to pay, a financial hardship for many.

When Dailey’s phone started ringing with requests from grateful subscribers, he enlisted his wife, Cherlyn Dailey, their children, Erin, 24, Sean, 21, and Brian, 17, and his mother-in-law, Carol Krohn, to help with the cause every morning.

“It’s really very simple,” added Cherlyn Dailey, 48. “Our responsibility is to take care of one another."

For Greg Dailey, who also runs a frame shop that is closed during the pandemic, a love of flinging newspapers in the wee hours started when he accompanied his dad on a route as a boy growing up in East Windsor.

“I’d go out and help him all the time to deliver the Hudson Dispatch,” he said of the now-defunct newspaper. “Then after I got married and we had our first child, I decided that becoming a carrier was a good way to earn a little extra money.”

Over the years, he has gotten to know many of his customers, he said, so it made sense for him to offer to add a gallon of milk, produce and canned goods to the morning news after people were told to stay home due to the spread of the coronavirus.

“Most of the people we’re helping are elderly and really shouldn’t be out shopping now anyway,” Greg Dailey said.

After his paper route ends each morning around 7 a.m., he and his family visit two local grocery stores in the community, split up the shopping lists, then make the day’s deliveries after wiping everything down with disinfecting wipes.

“I give everyone a head’s up that I’m going to drop by, then they put out an envelope for me with their payment,” Dailey said. “Sometimes, we’ll sit and talk a bit from a distance. To be honest, this is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done."

He doesn’t charge customers for his delivery service, but payment has come in other forms — smiles, appreciative notes and offers to pay it forward, he said.

A few days ago, when he received another thank-you note from a longtime subscriber, Dailey knew that his impact was having the effect he’d hoped for.

“Hi, Greg — We got your note this morning with our paper,” the note read. “We wanted to say thank you and although we don’t need the assistance ourselves, we wanted to support your generosity. I would like to send you a little money in support of your effort. How can I send it to you?”

The customer put $40 in his mailbox, which Dailey said he'll use to pay for gas and perhaps a few extras for a customer in need.

“This isn’t something that we’re just going to do for a few days — we’re in this for the duration,” he said. “My daughter and I delivered to a home yesterday, and the woman told me, ‘You’re the closest thing to an angel I’ve ever seen.’ Do you know what that does to your heart?”

“I just melted,” he said.

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by Seicher Rae

[Seicher Rae]

2 hours ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

What stories have helped you maintain your faith in humanity

This assumes one has a faith in humanity. I suppose I do, but it generally isn't a positive one. 

Even though I posted an article that made me smile...

[LittleMe Jewell]

1 hour ago, Seicher Rae said:

This assumes one has a faith in humanity. I suppose I do, but it generally isn't a positive one. 

Even though I posted an article that made me smile...

Most days I'm a bit jaded about humanity too.  These past few weeks, the proof of good in humanity seems to help me.

 

[LittleMe Jewell]

A guy a bit south of me:

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/castle-rock-man-offers-free-woodworking-kits-to-keep-kids-entertained-at-home-amid-covid-19-outbreak

[Cindy Evanier]

My offering is from the zoo keepers of our local zoo.  On Fridays they have been doing virtual zoo tours of feeding times with a Q&A live on facebook.  If you miss it live, all the videos get uploaded to their Youtube channel.  Bless them, these kids aren't film makers and some of the videos are a little haphazard but its definitely something I am looking forward to again this week.

 

[LyricalBookworm]

There is a mask challenge going around where people who know how to sew are encouraged to call their local hospitals, animal hospitals, urgent care, etc...to see if they are accepting donations of homemade masks. If they are, they let us know the fabric and if they have a pattern they wish us to use and how many they need.  

These are masks for use in jobs that are less likely to be exposed to the virus so it frees up equipment for others who need them in infected areas. They are also washable so can safely be reused if disinfected and cared for correctly. 

People from all over who have sewing channels on YouTube are vlogging about it. They've encouraged me to do it because I certainly have the time right now and I know how to sew. It is very heartwarming.

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by LyricalBookworm
Spelling corrections.

[Amina Sopwith]

There was a little girl on our street whose birthday was last week. She couldn't have her planned princess party, of course. So a load of us printed/coloured pictures of princesses and put them in our windows with birthday messages so they were there for her when she went for a walk with her parents on the day. One person on the street, a professional baker, left a princess cake for her on the end of the driveway.

The WhatsApp and Facebook groups have been wonderful. I've picked up some click and collects for isolating neighbours and there have been so many offers of help. I saw a woman had no rice during the shortage so I messaged her to offer some...but in the half hour since I'd seen the message, two others had already contacted her and she had enough for her family. Several people have made it clear that if we need to isolate, they'll make sure we have everything we need.

[LittleMe Jewell]

6 hours ago, Amina Sopwith said:

There was a little girl on our street whose birthday was last week. She couldn't have her planned princess party, of course. So a load of us printed/coloured pictures of princesses and put them in our windows with birthday messages so they were there for her when she went for a walk with her parents on the day.

This reminds me of the Bear Hunt that the neighborhoods are doing.  Folks put a stuffed bear, or any stuffed critter, in their window and the children try to find them on their daily walks.  It helps to keep the kids entertained.

[Amina Sopwith]

11 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

This reminds me of the Bear Hunt that the neighborhoods are doing.  Folks put a stuffed bear, or any stuffed critter, in their window and the children try to find them on their daily walks.  It helps to keep the kids entertained.

There's a drive for that as well. It started with children painting and drawing rainbows to put in the windows for kids to look out for on walks. Bear Hunt doesn't seem to have taken off so much but I'll put one in the window anyway.

Obviously the worst thing that can happen is people dying and I wouldn't wish to detract from that. It's just that when you also have things like cancelled weddings and children's birthday parties, it just shows how very widely this sadness is casting its net. I know a couple of people who had to postpone their weddings. Obviously it's not as serious as being in hospital, but I was so happy on my wedding day and I'd have been very sad if, after all that planning and family and friends preparing to come from overseas, it hadn't been able to go ahead. 

However, there was also a drive to stand in our doorways last Sunday at 7pm and dance to Reach by S Club 7. I didn't do it...

[Beth Macbain]

The musical director of the Louisville Orchestra is driving around the city doing pop-up concerts every day in different neighborhoods. His first one was in the courtyard of a retirement community. 

https://www.wdrb.com/news/louisville-orchestra-s-teddy-abrams-performs-surprise-pop-up-concerts/article_c4f0be44-7149-11ea-8d5d-8787fa89d796.html 

[LittleMe Jewell]

2 minutes ago, Amina Sopwith said:

However, there was also a drive to stand in our doorways last Sunday at 7pm and dance to Reach by S Club 7. I didn't do it...

Apparently something similar has been going on here and around the world

https://www.9news.com/article/life/style/colorado-guide/denver-howls-essential-workers-support-coronavirus/73-e06daa56-b49a-4f61-98ca-63bd84b9d218

[LittleMe Jewell]

1 minute ago, Beth Macbain said:

The musical director of the Louisville Orchestra is driving around the city doing pop-up concerts every day in different neighborhoods. His first one was in the courtyard of a retirement community. 

https://www.wdrb.com/news/louisville-orchestra-s-teddy-abrams-performs-surprise-pop-up-concerts/article_c4f0be44-7149-11ea-8d5d-8787fa89d796.html 

That is super neat

[Amina Sopwith]

5 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Apparently something similar has been going on here and around the world

https://www.9news.com/article/life/style/colorado-guide/denver-howls-essential-workers-support-coronavirus/73-e06daa56-b49a-4f61-98ca-63bd84b9d218

Oh, we have that, clapping for NHS and key workers at 8pm on Thursdays (was going to be a one off thing, now every week. Becoming a slightly controversial issue now.). But S Club 7 was just a community thing. I didn't fancy it but apparently neither did anyone else on the street.

There's also been a drive to stand at the door at an appointed time and scream, "WANKERS!" for everyone who's been flouting the rules.

 

[Cindy Evanier]

Not exactly community but no social distancing for these 2 cuties https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-52204078  

Edited April 8, 2020 by Cindy Evanier

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

107 year-old lady (Cornelia ''auntie Cor' Ras) survives COVID-19:

https://www.rijnmond.nl/nieuws/194136/Oudste-vrouw-van-Flakkee-107-overleeft-corona

If you pardon my Dutch.

[LittleMe Jewell]

I must say that I am happy to see so many large corporations stepping up to help out.  Hotels have been giving free rooms to medical workers, gas stations giving super discounted gas to medical workers and first responders, Disney is donating all of their excess food while closed.  Even some of the 'super rich' have been donating millions and billions to help out.

 

And then there is this:

Taran Tien, who is all of 9, pulled on his best suit. His sister Calliope, who is 6 and happens to be missing her two front teeth right now, fixed herself up in her party dress.  And off they went across Erie Road in their Columbus neighborhood, each carrying their cello so that they could play a full concert promptly at noon on their neighbor's large porch.  
You see, Helena Schlam is 78 and, at her children's insistence, is staying cloistered at home. In the Clintonville neighborhood these days when nothing is normal, anxiety is high and everything seems scary. 

[Selene Gregoire]

Just came back inside from watching a teacher parade through our neighborhood. Balloons on the cars and signs saying how the teachers love and miss their students. I applauded them all as they drove by with their windows down. Every one of them waved back and my applause put huge smiles on their faces. I'm sitting here trying not to let the tears fall.

[Madelaine McMasters]

Everybody in my neighborhood has been baking/cooking things for other neighbors. I've ordered pizza delivered to my next door neighbors and they've had their kids bake me cookies in return. The most fun part of all this is taking the hygiene guidelines over the top. I took my 16ft pole pruner out in the woods to meet the girls as they walked out with a little brown paper bag of freshly baked cookies. I gingerly extended the pole so they could harpoon the bag on the end of the pruning blade. I then carefully backed out of the woods, wiggling the pole to tempt the bag to fall off. The girls found my over-acted display of caution to be very funny, and went running home to tell their mom that the crazy lady next door is crazier than ever.

I've just worked up a tiny mesh bag for my drone that I'll send over soon for a treat exchange.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Madelaine McMasters

[Beth Macbain]

7 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

The girls found my over-acted display of caution to be very funny, and went running home to tell their mom that the crazy lady next door is crazier than ever.

And then you set them on fire??

[Madelaine McMasters]

5 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

And then you set them on fire??

I could send them incinerated treats. Thank you so much for the idea, Beth!

[LittleMe Jewell]

Yesterday when my husband and I actually dug into that box of remodeling dust masks that we had in the garage (because we are now being requested to wear them in public) we found there were 2 bags of masks stuffed into the box. One of them contained N95 masks, so we promptly dropped that bag off across the street at my neighbor's house - she's a nurse.  The regular dusk masks are good enough for the two of us.

Edited April 9, 2020 by LittleMe Jewell