The Ball State Center for Peace and Conflict Studies has compiled a second list of acts of kindness and peace, as a response to COVID-19. If you have stories of positive acts people/organizations are taking and you would like to share them, please email them to
peacecenter@bsu.edu.
10-Year-Old Uses YouTube to Empower Kids during COVID-19
Ten-year-old Sydney of Everett, WA was starting to feel hopeless about being in quarantine but decided to turn her worries into action by writing, recording, and animating her own YouTube series. The series, entitled Kids Coping with COVID-19 was created with the intent of getting information about the virus out to kids her age in a way that they would be able to understand. Sydney used her mom’s animation software from her teaching courses to help create the videos themselves. The videos discuss how kids can have fun safely and arrange playdates online, but they also have turned into a way for students to take action in their communities. In a more recent episode, Sydney asked that students email their teachers to see if there is any spare personal protective equipment (such as gloves and goggles) that is unused in the science labs for schools to donate. She also provides a website (donateppe.org) for students to direct their schools to use if they in fact have excess PPE equipment. The series was created in hopes of showing kids that they are able to make an impact in their community by listening to rules regarding personal and public safety as well as seeking to help in any way they can in this time of need.
16-Year-Old Flies Medical Supplies to Rural Hospitals
TJ Kim of Bethesda, Maryland has been flying planes all over Virginia to deliver medical supplies to hospitals combating coronavirus. After his school closed as a result of COVID-19, Kim turned his time to focus on completing his flying lessons, despite the fact that he can’t even drive a car yet. Kim and his family then launched the project “Operation SOS (Supplies Over Skies)” as a way to keep busy while also serving those in need in rural areas. On March 27th, Kim successfully delivered medical gowns, masks, hand sanitizer, and shoe covers to a small hospital in Luray, Virginia and has since gone on weekly flights to other rural hospitals in the area. His actions have been greatly appreciated by locals and healthcare workers alike.
Anonymous Donor in Massachusetts pays for Groceries for the Elderly
An anonymous donor paid for $5,000 worth of groceries at a store in Massachusetts to help those most vulnerable during lockdown. The donation covered the period of time set aside for elderly and immune-compromised shoppers to buy their groceries at a local grocery store, between 6 and 7:30 am on Saturday. According to the storeowner, the store received a call on Friday from an anonymous donor who wanted to “make a meaningful contribution” to confirm the number of people who normally shop during that time, and then told the store that they would pay the amount in full. The owner of the store also received a note from a customer that said, “Tears of joy and gratitude to all! We will do something today for someone in an effort for us to ‘pay it forward’”.
Cincinnati High School Student Creates Website for Grocery Delivery
Trip Wright, a 17-year-old sophomore at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, was looking for a way to get involved in his community during the coronavirus pandemic and was inspired by a college student who created a grocery and prescription delivery service in New York City called Invisible Hands Deliver. After only six hours of thinking and planning, Wright created the website called zoomfooddeliver.com in order to service the Cincinnati area in a similar way. The website has been up for two weeks now and fulfilled 30 orders with the help of 70 volunteers. Wright checks orders and emails in between his online classes in order to help customers and volunteers as much as possible. The organization was created with the sole purpose of providing safe and free grocery deliveries to the elderly and anyone else who can’t make it to the stores on their own. Wright has raised $1,000 in donations so far, which have been used to cover the cost of gas, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, gloves and masks for volunteers who are making deliveries. If there is an excess of donations at the end of this, the money will be donated to a local food bank.
Indiana Company is Making Clips for Face Masks
A company in Delphi, Northern Indiana is making plastic clips to protect medical workers’ ears from being irritated by the elastic straps on the face masks being used during the coronavirus pandemic. The company Hometown Shirts and Graphix was initially closed after Governor Holcomb issued stay-at-home orders, but the company’s owners have turned their free time into a way to help healthcare workers. Tricia and Mark Mendel are making plastic clips to prevent the back of ears from going raw after frequent mask usage. Since early April, the company has laser-cut and donated more than 3,000 clips to medical staff at Indiana hospitals, nursing homes, and grocery stores. Hometown Shirts and Graphix recently received enough material to make 20,000 more clips, which are provided for free, in order to help even more people in Indiana and elsewhere.