The coronavirus pandemic has taken lives and a sense of normalcy. But in the midst of the disaster, many are looking for ways to give🥃.
In recent days, Google has seen an uptick in searches of “how to say thank you” to essential workers at the front lines of the health crisis, from nurses to bus drivers to restaurant workers.
Here’s how to show gratitude for the lives of those who are making a difference.
How to thank a health-care worker
Given the widespread shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), people are looking for ways to help equip health-care workers with lifesaving equipment. A new initiative, “,” is aiming to help the epicenter of the crisis in New York. Additionally, is taking donations for protective equipment for health-care workers around the world.
But nurses and doctors and first responders also have to eat. Restaurants are coming up with ways to feed medical heroes. Creative ways to do this include which is arranging for hundreds of pizzas from independent pizzerias to be sent to workers at care centers, hospitals, clinics and shelters a👍cross the nation, and identifying the centers that are most in need.
The organization is also providing meals to health-care workers at Elmhuꦺrst Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, NYU Langone and others.
Individuals are also finding ways of stepping up. Instead of asking for presents on her birthday, one New York attorney had all her friends donate money to feed NYU hospital workers.
“Feeding them gave my 50th birthday some purpose at a time we felt so helpless,” said the birthday girl, Gabrielle Armour, who raised nearly $5,000 to bring Chipotle and Zucker’s Bagels to more than 600 hospital workers.
How to say ‘thank you’ to bus drivers
As essential workers, bus drivers are putting their lives at risk with every person who walks on their bus — and it’s bus drivers who suffered the among MTA employees in New York. Seven bus drivers so far have died of coronavirus, including 57-year-old Ernesto Hernandez of Brooklyn, .
But the best way to help bus drivers right now is by staying away from them, says Craig Cipriano, MTA Buses c🐬hief.
He advises staying home if you’re not an essential worker, or to wear a mask or bandana if you really must ride the bus.
Other small gestures he recommends are waving to bus operators “anywhere you see them to show appreciation” and tweeting a compliment about great operators to @NYCTBus, including route or bus number dates and times.
How to help your favorite local restaurants
With so many restaurants suffering financial blows, there’s a need for foodies to to their favorite eateries through different organizations. The is set up for individuals who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. All donations go directly to restaurant workers in the form of grants.
The is also taking donations to help individual restaur🗹ant w𝓀orkers and give loans to struggling restaurants.
Also, was started by the acclaimed restaurant award organization, with money earmark🐼ed specifically for “small, independent restaurants” to help keep them from going out of business. Donations can be made to supplement the fund.
Individual bars and restaurants have begun setting up their own fund-raisers to help staff during this time as well — call your favorite restaurant tღo find out if this is an option. Additionally, f💫or the restaurant can help them bring in revenue during this time. of NYC-favorite restaurants selling gift cards. HelpMainStreet.com is another page to visit to buy restaurant gift cards.
Restaurant workers are among the approximately 3.3 millio☂n Americans who applied for unemployment in one week alone, and this Open Table page lays out how a laid-off restaurant employee can — showing how one can file for unemployment and apply for other kinds of relief funds.