COVID-19 has proved to be a difficult time for people for many different reasons. Be it health, financial or emotional problems, everyone is somehow being impacted by the pandemic.
However, some would argue that now is more crucial than ever to give back to the country, varying communities and individuals.
“That's something that a lot of people have realized is that during this craziness, it is really important to still stay connected to other people in some sort of way — whether it's writing letters to each other or whether it's donating to people in need,” Jeannette Miller, a sophomore studying mechanical engineering, said.
Miller is social chair for Ohio University’s chapter of the international service organization Circle K. She has worked hard with her peers in the organization to find ways to give back resources and time during the pandemic.
The outreach includes acts like writing letters to people in hospitals or nursing homes, where residents are lonely because they aren’t allowed visitors.
“People really coming together and joining right now creates more community in a time where you think we would be so far apart,” Miller said.
The Circle K executive board knows it’s not safe to gather in big groups to volunteer, so it’s working hard to emphasize more small acts of kindness in place of grand gestures. Members have been donating to their local food pantries and local animal shelters, some in Athens and others still in their hometowns.
Members have also engaged in Zoom meetings to bond with each other while doing good deeds, like making birthday cards for children in the hospital.
“Especially in COVID, everyone’s hit really hard times recently,” Carlee Roberts, a senior studying biological sciences and the vice president and community chair of Circle K, said. “Being that little spark of hope that people can see in the world, just with helping out by doing something small … can be really big to that person who needs it.”
Nonprofits within the Athens community have also seen growing support during the pandemic.
In March 2020, the Athens County Foundation launched an Emergency Response Fund in response to COVID-19. This provided weekly grants to nonprofits on the frontlines of the pandemic. The response fund awarded $174,000 in grants during the fiscal year 2020 (which ended Sept. 30), but to date, it has awarded $250,000 to 36 organizations and counting.
About 26% of grants from the fund go toward food security; 28% toward arts, culture, community and economic development; and 21% to health and human services.
Not to mention, donations increased during 2020, putting the Athens County Foundation just over $2 million.
“That’s been a really important way for the community to support people who are facing challenges brought on by the pandemic,” Kerry Pigman, executive director of the Athens County Foundation, said.
But it’s not just within the Athens community that charitable giving has skyrocketed. Throughout the pandemic, Americans have been donating to charitable causes in record numbers.
In a study done by TOP Data and Kindest, the new wave of COVID-19 has pushed charitable donations up by 25% in comparison to 2019. The average American donation to charitable organizations was $608.
Ohio ranked in the top half of the 50 states in charitable donations, with an average of $657. The study also showed that 52% of Americans plan to donate more in 2021.
Miller, Roberts and Pigman are all proud to see people doing their part to help others during such trying times. They would encourage people to do something to give back. Be it a small act of kindness or a charitable donation, anything can help.
“It's a good time for us to recognize that we're all going through a different set of challenges,” Pigman said. “And for those of us who are in a position to be more generous, this is absolutely the time to do it.”
