How to Help During the Pandemic
With the pandemic in every state prompting the closing of schools and businesses, if you’re able, here’s how you can help nonprofits, pet shelters, restaurants and neighbors in our community.
Non-Profits Need Your Help
After being ordered to cancel fundraising events, nonprofits are struggling to meet the needs of their clients. Homeless shelters and animal shelters are in dire need of supplies like hand sanitizer and cleaning products as well as donations. If you have enough to share, consider contacting the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, the Humane Society of Boulder Valley and the Humane Society of Weld County.
As of March 17, more than 2,700 blood drives had been cancelled all over the country and the need for blood donations never ends. In addition to ensuring a stable supply throughout the pandemic, the Red Cross encourages people to keep their donation appointments. Also, the organization is actively “seeking people who are fully recovered from COVID-19 and may be able to donate plasma to help current patients with immediately life-threatening infections.”
Those who have recovered from Coronavirus have antibodies in their plasma that can attack the virus. Historically, convalescent plasma has been used as a treatment when new diseases or infections develop quickly, and no treatments or vaccines were available yet. The Red Cross has been asked by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help identify prospective donors — so if you’re fully recovered from a verified COVID-19 diagnosis, please review the information at the Red Cross website to see how you might be able to save lives.
The Erie Community Food Bank updates its Facebook page regularly to list its most urgent needs. Currently items like canned beef stew, pancake mix, ramen noodles, spaghetti-Os, baked beans and diced tomatoes are on the list. If you clean out your pantries, the food bank prefers items that are not expired, or with an expiration date of less than a year — May 2019 or later. It can accept expired items to place on its USE QUICKLY shelves. You can also donate basic toiletry items to be packed for families. Located at 635 Pierce St. in Erie, the phone number is 720-383-4865.
One local business that retooled its canvas bag-making company to turn out face masks is Winter Session, owned by Tanya Fleisher and her husband Roy Katz. With the material they had on hand, the pair started a nonprofit called Cover Up Colorado and recruited volunteer sewers to make masks for hospitals and to sell online to local citizens. Katz and Fleisher are taking donations to purchase additional supplies.
Restaurants Open for Business
24 Carrot Bistro is fielding orders for takeout as is Injoy (have you tasted their truffle fries?!). The Rusty Melon can make cocktails to go and The Old Mine can package its “liquid gold” cider for pickup, too — as well as BBQ, salads and pizza. The Denver Channel – Channel 7 – has a list which it updates regularly, of businesses that are open including restaurants in Louisville, Thornton and Westminster. Consider supporting your local restaurants further by purchasing an online gift card — stock up on gifts for birthdays and holidays and patronize your neighborhood eateries whenever you can.
Since wait staff has been affected by lay-offs and furloughs, Eater compiled a list of several organizations supporting workers in the restaurant industry. The Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation in particular is using donations to provide zero-interest loans to businesses to help them reopen and to create a relief fund for workers facing economic hardships during the COVID crisis.
Meals on Wheels delivers nutritious meals to the country’s most vulnerable among us – including local seniors. Donations will replenish food supplies and subsidize additional transportation for deliveries to elderly recipients. You can contact one of these local groups to donate, volunteer or find out what you can do to help.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors in Colliers Hill
If you’re a resident of Colliers Hill and haven’t joined the Facebook group, now is the perfect time to plug in. You’ll find neighbors helping neighbors, posting positive thoughts, exchanging supplies, keeping us informed and sharing chalk drawings too! We’re lucky to live in the master-planned community of Colliers Hill where we can reach out to one another as we await the reopening of amenities. If you don’t live here yet, check out the virtual tours of model homes from Meritage Homes, Richmond American Homes, and Century Communities. Available floor plans include ranch-style or two-story designs and are priced from the high $300s.
