14 Ways to Support Coronavirus Frontline Workers

While most of us are quarantined at home during the coronavirus pandemic, there are people who are putting their lives at risk every day to protect and serve us. They’re packing boxes in warehouses, restocking the shelves in grocery stores, and working round the clock at hospitals saving lives. It can feel frustrating to be at home and not know how to support them or the global community during this time. 

So instead of focusing on all the things we can’t do right now, here are 14 ways you can help make this time a little easier for all those on the frontlines, and for those that have been laid off: 

1. Call your representatives. Demand resources our healthcare workers need to continue providing care to all those infected without putting their own lives at risk. 
   
   
2. Support companies who are paying their workers for scheduled shifts even though they’ve shut down by ordering their products or services online. Buy products from them or other companies who are supporting their employees.
   
   
3. Order takeout from your favorite restaurants that are still open.
   
   
4. If you’ve stockpiled any personal protective equipment (PPE) such as surgical gloves or masks, donate them to your local hospital. 
   
   
5. Subscribe to your local newspaper and donate to your local homeless shelters.
   
   
6. Write rave reviews for your favorite small businesses on Yelp, Google Reviews, and Facebook. Whether they’re open right now or closed, they need all the support they can get to get through this time. 
   
   
7. Donate to the relief funds many neighborhood restaurants and shops are setting up to support their laid-off workers. 
   
   
8. Tip!!! Tip more than you usually would. Then tip more. 
   
   
9. Brick and mortar retail has been entirely shut down, but maybe your favorite mom and pop shop has an online presence that you can support through their digital channels.
   
   
10. Buy gift cards at your local businesses that are still open. Give them as gifts or save them for later. 
    
    
11. Donate to local food banks. Remember when everyone was stockpiling food? Not everyone got the chance. 
    
    
12. Check-in on your friends who are working. Call, send a text, use a cash app to send them a little gift and let them know you’re thinking of them. They’re moving through a lot of feelings right now, and probably the best thing you can do for them is to let them know you’re there to process when they need to. 
    
    
13. Share new job opportunities on social media. Amazon, Domino’s and Trader Joe’s are all hiring. 
    
    
14. And of course— be extra, extra kind to any employee you come across who is still working. Just because they haven’t lost their jobs, doesn’t mean they aren’t going through it. They probably wish they could quarantine at home too, but don’t have the option.