Even though the country’s death toll due to Covid-19 reached the half-a-million-mark, hospital cases have dropped. With this, the country might be seeing the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, and everything may soon go back to normal.
This also means people should start working on rebuilding their community seriously affected by the health crisis. Here are some things that people can do to help rebuild a community as the end of the pandemic draws near.
Assist
For a community to recover, it’s important to ensure every community member has everything they need to survive. This means a community may need to lend a helping hand to members who are still struggling due to the epidemic.
In these situations, community leaders can focus on the individual members and help them get back on their feet. They can ensure they have the things they need to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. The community may even need to provide these individuals with the means to let them get back on their feet financially.
When people help others, they also relieve some of the stress they feel due to the pandemic. This “helper’s high” comes after performing selfless service for other people. So, the people who help also experience positive emotions, especially when they receive expressions of gratitude from the people they helped.
The assistance can come in the form of running errands for the older members of the community. It can also mean picking up the grocery of a neighbor who is housebound due to their delicate health situation. When performing these errands, it’s still important to observe health protocols to ensure everything remains safe.
Donate
People who have work-from-home arrangements with their company might have extra cash since they don’t have to spend that much compared to working on-site. Due to this, they can donate some extra cash to organizations helping other people during the pandemic.
They have a lot of options where they can send the money, including local and national charities. These organizations provide food, housing, and financial assistance to people who need help. They can also donate to health centers and hospitals that may need all the help to fight the virus.
Supporting crowdsourcing campaigns for essential workers is also another option. They can send the funds for these campaigns to help people who are working on the frontlines in the middle of the pandemic.
Additionally, they can also support local businesses that are struggling to stay afloat amid the health crisis. People can buy gift cards or have food delivered from restaurants that are still operating. If they plan to go hiking in spring or summer, they can also buy water-resistant sunscreen from shops offering these items.
Donate Items
The pandemic caused issues in the supply chain that resulted in shortages of some supplies. People who prepared way ahead of time may have extra supplies at home. They can donate some of these supplies to people who may need them.
For instance, medical centers and hospitals need personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep medical personnel safe. People who have extra PPEs can send them to these medical centers and hospitals. People with extra food in their pantry can donate to food banks that opened with the increasing number of unemployed people.
When the pandemic started, people started panic-buying since they were afraid that supplies would run out during the crisis. People who have more than enough supplies can also donate some to organizations helping people in need. These supplies include paper towels, toilet paper, rubbing alcohol, and bleach.
The pandemic made people apprehensive about going out to donate blood. Due to this, there is a shortage in the supply of blood needed by hospitals. Additionally, there are fewer eligible donors after the number of coronavirus cases reached 28 million. People who didn’t catch the virus can also donate blood. Even as authorities discourage non-essential errands, blood banks and the Red Cross implement proper health protocols to protect everyone.
Offer Skills
People with special skills can also put them to good use by offering their services for free. For instance, sewers can make PPEs and masks that they can give to people who need them. Web designers can design a website for a small brick-and-mortar struggling to stay afloat and doesn’t have the funds for an online store. Lawyers can also offer pro bono assistance to small businesses looking to access funds they can use to allow them to continue operating.
With the end of the pandemic already within sight, it’s still important for people to help each other so everyone will get through the crisis relatively unscathed.
