Christa Geraghty | 

8 Ways to Help Your Community During the Coronavirus Outbreak

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While you may have everything in order for your household, there are ways to help your community during the coronavirus outbreak. What can you do about it? Contribute to local food banks, volunteer with Meals on Wheels, or sign up to be a Shopping Angel.

Here are eight ways in which you can help your neighbors without putting yourself or them in harm’s way:

 

1. Contribute some of your coupon stockpile to local food banks.

Box with donate written on it with stuff in it

Local food pantries are experiencing shortages and are looking for community support. If you have plenty to spare from your couponing stockpile, share a little with your local food bank, or offer a monetary donation — every bit helps.

Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly take donating and the food bank concept one step further. They recently opened their free grocery store, The Store, ahead of schedule to help meet the needs of those affected by recent tornadoes in Tennessee and the coronavirus.

RELATED: Stockpiling Tips for People Who Don’t Have Room for a Stockpile.

 

2. Donate to or volunteer with Meals on Wheels.

Meals on wheels coronavirus update on their website.

You can help support charities and organizations with online donations. Donate to Meals on Wheels or fill out the volunteer form to become an on-call driver. Shifts only take about an hour and are weekdays between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

 

3. Help local restaurant employees out of work.

A man putting a closed sign up in a window.

To help restaurant workers who are laid off, you can donate to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation. The RWCF has resources for those who need assistance and for those who want to help:

  • Relief funds for restaurant workers
  • Unemployment information
  • Financial Assistance
  • Health, healthcare, and prevention
  • Immigrant-specific concerns and resources
  • Updates on closures, impact on the restaurant industry
  • What businesses need to know
  • Policy advocacy from the community
  • Volunteering opportunities
  • News items on restaurants and the crisis
  • Data and statistics relevant to the crisis

 

4. Join the Nextdoor Help Map.

nextdoor.com information page on helping your neighbors doing the coronavirus crisis.

Nextdoor.com, the social network for communities, is a great resource to help neighbors who are quarantined. You can also assist your neighbors by signing up for the newly launched Nextdoor Help Map.

You can mark yourself as available to help neighbors with anything from grocery shopping to phone-ins. Signup is quick and easy:

  1. Click on the More menu in the corner of your homepage
  2. Select Help Map
  3. Tap Offer help
  4. Click Continue
  5. Type in how you would like to help in the text box
  6. Click Add to map button
  7. Once you add yourself, members can message you via the Nextdoor platform and request your help.

TIP: Place food or drink orders at local restaurants and bars that are open for takeout or delivery.

 

5. Sign up to be a Shopping Angel for your at-risk neighbors.

The Shopping Angels Logo

Chances are not all of your neighbors, especially the elderly, belong to online social networks. Be a Shopping Angel and offer to deliver groceries or important items to your at-risk neighbors. You can sign up to be a Shopping Angles volunteer, or sign up an elderly or sick neighbor with this form. Here’s the Shopping Angels email address for each state to make inquiries:

National: shoppingangelsHQ@gmail.com (business inquiries only)

Alabama: shoppingangelsAL@gmail.com

Alaska: shoppingangelsAK@gmail.com

Arizona: shoppingangelsARIZONA@gmail.com

Arkansas: shoppingangelsAR@gmail.com

California: shoppingangelsCA@gmail.com

Colorado: shoppingangelsCO@gmail.com

Connecticut: shoppingangelsCT@gmail.com

Delaware: shoppingangelsDE@gmail.com

Florida: shoppingangelsFL@gmail.com

Georgia: shoppingangelsGA@gmail.com

Hawaii: shoppingangelsHI@gmail.com

Idaho: shoppingangelsID@gmail.com

Illinois: shoppingangelsIL@gmail.com

Indiana: shoppingangelsINDIANA@gmail.com

Iowa: shoppingangelsIA@gmail.com

Kansas: shoppingangelsKS@gmail.com

Kentucky: shoppingangelsKY@gmail.com

Louisiana: shoppingangelsLOUISIANA@gmail.com

Maine: shoppingangelsME@gmail.com

Maryland: shoppingangelsMD@gmail.com

Massachusetts: shoppingangelsMA@gmail.com

Michigan: shoppingangelsMI@gmail.com

Minnesota: shoppingangelsMN@gmail.com

Mississippi: shoppingangelsMS@gmail.com

Missouri: shoppingangelsMO@gmail.com

Montana: shoppingangelsMT@gmail.com

Nebraska: shoppingangelsNE@gmail.com

Nevada: shoppingangelsNV@gmail.com

New Hampshire: shoppingangelsNH@gmail.com

New Jersey: shoppingangelsNJ@gmail.com

New Mexico: shoppingangelsNM@gmail.com

New York: shoppingangelsNY@gmail.com

North Carolina: shoppingangelsNC@gmail.com

North Dakota: shoppingangelsND@gmail.com

Ohio: shoppingangelsOH@gmail.com

Oklahoma: shoppingangelsOK@gmail.com

Oregon: shoppingangelsOR@gmail.com

Pennsylvania: shoppingangelsPA@gmail.com

Rhode Island: shoppingangelsRI@gmail.com

South Carolina: shoppingangelsSC@gmail.com

South Dakota: shoppingangelsSD@gmail.com

Tennessee: shoppingangelsTN@gmail.com

Texas: shoppingangelsTX@gmail.com

Utah: shoppingangelsUT@gmail.com

Vermont: shoppingangelsVT@gmail.com

Virginia: shoppingangelsVA@gmail.com

Washington: shoppingangelsWA@gmail.com

West Virginia: shoppingangelsWV@gmail.com

Wisconsin: shoppingangelsWI@gmail.com

Wyoming: shoppingangelsWY@gmail.com

TIP: If you live in NYC and want to help, you can also use Invisible Hands Deliver to help those in need!

 

6. Limit your panic buying.

Empty grocery store shelves.

While it’s good to stock up, there’s no reason to purchase beyond what you and your family will need for two weeks. Grocery stores will remain open, as they are a vital resource. By limiting your buying to a two-week supply, you allow the next person the same opportunity to feed and take care of their loved ones.

RELATED: Best tips for stockpiling groceries during coronavirus.

 

7. Send gifts to the elderly in assisted living facilities.

Young female opening a gift for elderly female

Because elderly people are at high risk of catching the virus, senior care homes have locked the doors to visitors to protect the residents. Unfortunately, this decision leaves them without human connections outside the facility.

If you have relatives in a facility, brighten their day with phone calls and video messages, if possible. You can also send puzzles, cards, or adult coloring books to help reduce anxiety and loneliness amongst the residents, even if you don’t know anyone there. Contact the facility before you send any items to ask about the rules for outside gifts.

 

8. Avoid the public and stay home.

Stay home warning for coronavirus

Above all else, the most important way you can help your neighbors and community is to heed the government warnings and stay home, especially if you are not feeling well. Try and avoid going out into the public unless it’s necessary.

 

UP NEXT: How Grocery Curbside Pickup Works, Simplified for Busy Moms

Curbside pickup for groceries

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