Are We All Doing Enough?

It's now been two weeks since the shelter-in-place launched and it's been a very odd 14 days. The contrasts of humans versus humanity is astonishing - from one spectrum to the other:

• Shopping hoarders crammed in line vs sensible, six feet apart shoppers
• Celebrities singing woes of self pity isolation in mansions vs exhausted, angelic first responders working 24/7
• Billionaire founders demanding government bail outs & staff unpaid leave vs billionaire corporations pivoting manufacturing to make masks/COVID-19 medical aid
• Eco activists perpetually yelling for government cash vs less human pollution that's naturally healing the planet
• Sitting at home vs volunteers at food banks working around the clock
• Well known personalities receiving immediate COVID-19 test kits vs Jane & Joe Doe on a long wait list for testing
• Vacant hotels galore (at least 30,000 in San Francisco) vs homeless sleeping six feet apart on the street
• Walkers needing fresh air and keeping social distancing vs entitled joggers/runners weaving in and out, brushing past us

We're all in this together and we're doing our part by staying indoors, yet the 'non-novelty' of turning into couch potatoes is wearing thin. We want to do more but stay safe, but give back, but are scared of contamination. How do we do this without compromising our health and risking spreading the virus to others?

Obviously we can all donate to worthy funds such as the House Homeless in Hotels campaign*, packaging food & dropping it six feet from a homeless person and donating your time to call individuals who are depressed from isolation. *There are many organizations out there who are sub-recipients of COVID-19 so it's hard to determine if your cash donation will even get into the right hands, but the link above is not one of them - the $$$ goes directly into a hotel room.

But what more can we do?

If you're healthy, under 60 and raring to go, please volunteer your time to Shanti. From dog walking, to mail pick up, grocery shopping and essential deliveries, this is your and our time to step up and step out of our hideaway.  If you're near a local food bank, contact them about chipping in your time a few hours a week. If you're a member of a religious organization (church, synagogue, mosque etc), ask if they need help for their congregants.

Step up, step out and start moving to help those that desperately need help. Because we can only be a couch potato for so long until our time and taps us on the shoulder to do more...