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Consumer Newsletter – May 2020
US
Edition; By Elyse Umlauf-Garneau
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Caremongering Spreads Goodness, Not Fear
As news of Covid-19 started gearing
up, Allison Bradley felt heartbroken when she spotted seniors running errands
and grocery shopping around her town, Kelowna, B.C.
“My goodness, you are risking so much
by being out here. It’s so unnecessary.” she recalls thinking. She then stopped
by a senior service center and volunteered to help out during the pandemic.
“But I was still frustrated and upset.
I kept seeing more of these seniors and felt I wasn’t doing enough,” she says.
Surrender to kindness
She and her partner, John Scott,
responded by launching Caremongering
Kelowna (https://bit.ly/2RyJyZf)
on Facebook.
It’s
dead simple. Local residents post their needs – groceries, protective masks,
and medicine pick-ups -- and local volunteers step in to fulfill those needs.
Facebook Caremongering sites have
emerged across Canada, including those in Oakville (https://bit.ly/2Vn91py),
Toronto, Wellington (https://bit.ly/3a30mOf),
and Yellowknife (https://bit.ly/2xtN4x0).
The
idea also has taken hold in the United States. Caremongering sites have emerged
in Joplin, Missouri (https://bit.ly/2RysdPU),
in Tampa, Fla. (https://bit.ly/3emigPv),
and in Chicago (https://bit.ly/3eiaPZO),
for instance. In addition, hyper-local
groups have popped up, including those in Chicago’s Edgewater (https://bit.ly/3el44Gi)
and Logan Square (https://bit.ly/3egBfuM)
neighborhoods.
Ensuring community
well-being
“When we created Caremongering
Kelowna, it was, ‘Oh, this will be good for the community, and we’ll be picking
groceries and stuff like that.’ But it's blossomed into so much more,” says
Scott.
In addition to helping neighbors with
the basics, people in Kelowna also have stepped up to deliver good cheer and
maintain their community members’ physical and emotional well-being.
Groups have decorated their cars with
balloons and streamers to do drive-by birthday parties.
Kevin Negoro, a local chef, cooked an
entire meal (https://bit.ly/2yON8Yz) and dropped
it off to help a family celebrate a birthday.
A property owner with an empty Airbnb
near the local hospital is letting nurses stay for free.
Someone else wanted to learn how to
play the guitar and a guitarist offered to sanitize one of his instruments and
drop it off.
On other caremongering sites, the stories are much the same. People
have been dropping off cake mixes, answering questions about making homemade
yeast, delivering Easter meals to seniors, offering advice on starting gardens,
and giving others a heads-up about where to get supplies and find doctors and
home repair experts.
Still, it’s been challenging to find
and serve the needs of seniors because many aren’t on Facebook, and Bradley and
Scott still are looking for ways to get the word out more widely to seniors and
their families.
From the heart
The two also encourage others to
create their own caremongering sites.
Set-up is a cinch, and there’s minimal
management, other than establishing a few ground rules and moderating the site.
Scott created a basic Facebook page
and made it public. Beyond inviting some friends to join, there was no
marketing involved.
Word got out through friends sharing
the page with friends. In addition, the media picked up on it and did a couple
stories, and within a few weeks of its March 17th launch, the site
had over 1,700 members.
“We've got no organization over us,
and we don't take direct control of anything, other than encouraging people and
saying, ‘Hey, you've got abilities and talents that nobody else has that you
can contribute,’” says Scott. “Everyone has a neighbor and every neighbor has
something that they can offer to one another.”
It starts with you
The main thing they monitor on the
site is businesses trying to promote themselves or others looking for financial
gain.
“It's got to be, ‘How can I help?’ It
has to be from the heart,” says Bradley.
For those who feel paralyzed and
overwhelmed by stay-at-home orders, fears for the future, and dismay about the
global political scene, Scott’s message is: “This doesn’t start at the top, but
at the grassroots with you. You're in charge of your household, you're a part
of a community, and you really are your own leader who can set an example.”
Visit the SRES
blog to find tips on setting up your own Caremongering site.
Real Estate Matters: News &
Issues for the Mature Market
Coldwell Banker Premier Group
2203 S. Big Bend Blvd
St. Louis, MO 63117
Matt Wroughton - SRES, PSA
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