During this trying time, we’ve seen incredible acts of kindness from both the community and our team. Our managing partners Audrey and Nick Taylor are especially grateful for the carers of the world who are still working to help those around them. We invite you to join us in clapping for them. 

As some states and countries start to reopen, we still have a focus on the community and how we can help them. Here are some ways our team has independently helped their own communities during this time. 

“Bobby and I have loaned our travel trailer out to a nurse who has two young kids and husband. She works in the burn unit, but they have recently been dealing with COVID patients. She was fearful of giving it to her family so she now sleeps in the travel trailer and basically lives there.” – Stephanie Sponsel

“I have purchased gift cards for the non-essential services I would normally be paying for, like my salon and massage therapist. I have bought food for our church’s food pantry as well as left my monthly membership active for my Pilates studio. I also ensure to tip extra when food is delivered or for curbside pickup to help the workers who are seeing a severe decrease in their wages.” – Elizabeth Szentes

“I am helping an elderly neighbor by getting groceries for her, checking in on her and bringing her some meals. I am also supporting Second Helpings with a donation.” – Diane Walton

“There are several things I’m doing to help out in the community during this time.  #1, staying home as much as possible and practicing social distancing!  Additionally, I am supporting the Indiana State Department of Health track and manage the ventilator inventory throughout the state. Ventilators are a critical piece of medical equipment that hospitals need to care for patients having difficulty breathing due to the covid-19 infection. Our work will be used to deploy ventilators to health systems as their demands increase over the coming days and weeks.” – Andrew Powers

“I donated supplies for making masks, ran errands for an elderly person, and mailed notes to kids out of school with suggestions for fun activities” – Phil Canada

“I am sewing masks for Eskenazi and supporting carryout services at neighboring restaurants.” – Lynn Zettler

“I have made monetary donations to Kitchen Angels (https://kitchenangels.org/) and the Northern New Mexico’s Food Bank (https://www.thefooddepot.org/). I have also grocery shopped for two of my elderly neighbors so they wouldn’t leave their homes.” – Karen Sandoval

“I am staying home and following social distancing protocols mandated by the NM governor. Additionally, I am checking on elderly neighbors and family members and asking if they need any help with grocery shopping.” – Lisana Chavez

 “My example is more personal than for the community as a whole. My former nextdoor neighbor Enid was recently permanently laid-off from her job as a customer service representative due to coronavirus-related budget cuts by her employer. She is a single mother of three children and suffers from an autoimmune disease. To add to her financial worries, Enid has been battling in court for years to receive child support from her children’s father, so money is very scarce. 

The shock of getting suddenly laid-off with no severance pay or health care benefits caused her to immediately get physically sick and not be able to eat.  When I found out through Facebook about her plight, I took her some of my husband’s homemade chicken soup for her and her family, along with some other grocery items. Fortunately, Enid was able to eat the soup and feel somewhat better! In addition, I wrote a reference for her on LinkedIn encouraging employers that she would make a great asset to their company. 

I am staying in contact with her to check on her wellbeing and to continue to be supportive.  Enid also has a good network of other friends, who are also lending a hand. Hopefully, she will find another suitable work opportunity soon and get back on her feet again!” – Wendy Maple

“I have fixed my neighbors mailbox, ordered take out from local restaurants to try to keep them in business and continue to help deliver meals with Second Helpings.” – Stephen Bard

“Alec, Barbara, Jim and Thomas are helping with Second Helpings COVID response and are also helping to coordinate efforts for the City of Indianapolis.  We have prepared workflows, Google Maps, legislation analysis and meeting documentation. We have had excellent support and suggestions from Elizabeth, Diane and Stephanie.

I’m driving (solo) on my Wednesday delivery routes.” – Nick Taylor

“My family and I have been helping others by: 

  • Ordering lots of products on-line, more than we ever have, supporting the shipping and receiving companies locally.
  • We continue to support our church by tithing as we would normally when we attend services, for they still need to meet the needs of the community.
  • We are supporting the local restaurants in the area and local grocery stores weekly with take out and in-person shopping.
  • Worked to achieve my on-line donation goal for the Women Build Habitat for Humanity build by soliciting friends and family for donations.
  • My husband works for a hospital system, so he is doing everything he can to support its operations, he even volunteered to work on a Sunday night because they had a data entry project. (I asked if I could go to help, but I was not allowed)
  • We continue to pray for those in contact with people daily, and for those who cannot work from home”  

– Laura Shanahan

Additionally, here’s a good tip if you’d like to help your community:

“For anyone that uses Nextdoor, they have added a ‘help map’ where users can ‘volunteer’ their services and get connected through the website or app. You can list whatever you feel comfortable assisting with; walking dogs, yard work, meal prep, running errands, etc.” – Matthew Boldt

Thank you to the #netlogxteam for all of their contributions to the community during COVID-19!