The COVID-19 pandemic is an uncertain and scary time, but that doesn’t squelch the urge to volunteer in the community. In fact, many health experts say that helping others can relieve stress and increase our sense of meaning and purpose.
Hot Breakfast to Go
For the past nine years, Tamara Hall has served a hot breakfast once a month at the Potter’s Wheel Ministries in downtown Evansville, and she wasn’t going to let a global pandemic stop her from her volunteering. Hall, Senior Administrative Assistant for the USI Graduate Nursing Program, said she, husband, Jerry, and others from their congregation, Northeast Park Baptist Church, cooked eggs, sausage, hash browns, biscuits and gravy, packaging it in 225 boxes for the Potter’s Wheel to hand out on April 11.
“These are people that do not have a meal, let alone a hot meal. It is a joy to be able to share with those less fortunate than we are,” she said. “It is always heart-warming to see the appreciation in the people’s eyes and hear it in their voices. This month we were not allowed to see or be near the people, but at least they received a much-needed hot meal.”
Brown Baggin' It
Like most of us, Kathy Peak, Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiologic and Imaging Sciences, found she had an abundance of time while sheltering in place. So, when one of her friends needed help with a service project, she jumped at the chance to get involved.
Peak’s friend often prepares and serves meals at United Caring Services, a homeless shelter in downtown Evansville. “She has a special place in her heart for the homeless population in Evansville and was concerned that perhaps they were not getting as many meals during the crisis because volunteer groups did not want to go into the shelter to prepare meals,” said Peak. “She reached out to several of us via a Facebook group about taking donations and preparing sack lunches for the shelter.”
Peak received items her friend had bought and collected with donations and supplies from the food bank – enough for her to assemble 150 sack lunches at her home (practicing social distancing) that she delivered to United Caring Shelter. Each sack lunch contained a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an orange, a snack bar, a bag of chips and a bottle of water.
“In times like this, it’s easy to focus on the negative. Instead, I’m trying very hard to focus on the positive,” said Peak. “I’m very fortunate that I still have my job, that I can work from home, and that my family is safe and healthy. I’m grateful for an opportunity, however small, to provide some comfort to those in need.”
Sewing to Help the Cause
Students, faculty and staff in the College of Nursing and Health Professions are dusting off their sewing machines during the pandemic.
Amy Doninger, Senior Administrative Assistant for Food and Nutrition, hadn’t sewed in 15 years, but when she heard that local organizations were asking for donations of face masks, she sprang into action.
“I found a basic Singer model on Amazon, and it was delivered quickly,” she said. “It stood out to me that Chemo Buddies needed them because my mom had just finished her chemo in January. They were with her throughout her treatment, providing companionship, assistance and lots of treats and goodies.”
Using her mother’s fabric and a pattern downloaded from the Deaconess website, she has made several face masks already, donating them to Chemo Buddies, family members and church members.
Dr. Jennifer Evans, Associate Professor of Nursing, has also sewn masks for family members, including her mother and her co-workers at the Evansville west side Wal-Mart.
Evans says her mother is in the high-risk category for COVID-19 since she is over 65 and a type 2 diabetic. “As an essential worker and single income household, my mother doesn't have the option of not working, so having a mask makes her feel a little more protected,” said Evans.
