Community, Food and Drink, Living, Neighborhood Mar 30, 2020 5 Ways You Can Help Queens During the Coronavirus Outbreak One of the most difficult parts of this time is the lack of control most of us feel, but there are small ways you can still make a difference: by (…) Share this Scoop by Claire Leaden total shares! Twitter Facebook Email Print One of the most difficult parts of this time is the lack of control most of us feel, but there are small ways you can still make a difference: by (…) by Claire Leaden Share this Scoop total shares! Twitter Facebook Email Print Instagram / @jessicamovesyou One of the most difficult parts of this time is the lack of control most of us feel, but there are small ways you can still make a difference: by helping your community. If you are still fortunate enough to be working and receiving a paycheck, consider contributing to some of these efforts to help both local businesses and healthcare workers on the front lines fighting this disease. 1. Donate to “Queens Feeds Hospitals” Facebook / Queens Feeds Hospitals According to their Facebook page, “Queens Feeds Hospitals is a grassroots, community-run initiative started with a simple idea in the time of COVID-19: Nourish our healthcare clinicians who are working under tremendous strain, and support our local restaurants who are struggling to survive.” They use donations to pay vetted local restaurants to bring quality meals for shifts of healthcare workers at local hospitals. They have partnerships with Elmhurst Hospital, Mt. Sinai Queens, and New York Presbyterian (Weil Cornell), and make sure the deliveries meet every safety protocol of the hospitals. This gives back double: you are supporting local businesses hit hardest by the closings, and also providing meals to hard-working medical employees. Donate here (if you can rally together the full $1,000 with a group to cover one shift meal), or in smaller amounts on GoFundMe here or here. 2. Give to Local Restaurant Employee Relief Funds https://www.instagram.com/p/B-OZmmIjcL0/ To help employees that have suddenly lost their jobs, many local restaurants have begun “employee relief funds” to help pay their staff. Here are links to ones you can contribute to: The Highwater The Bonnie/Sweet Afton: Purchase drinks, exclusive merchandise, and event tickets that are redeemable when they reopen for business. 100% of all proceeds will go towards supporting staff that is most in need during this time. Give to The Bonnie here; Sweet Afton here. Vite Vinosteria Viva Viva NYC/30th Ave Businesses Give Me Astoria Relief Fund – all proceeds will benefit Astoria businesses and organizations 3. Help Feed Children in the Community View this post on Instagram Link in bio ❤️ A post shared by Bareburger (@bareburger) on Mar 26, 2020 at 12:22pm PDT Bareburger is working with the LIC Relief Covid-19 Response Group to help raise $30,000 to make 6,000 kids meals for those in need. They will provide pre-packed, grab-and-go meals for children in Long Island City and surrounding neighborhoods, and are working to establish partnerships with similar organizations in other neighborhoods. They will continually update this GoFundMe with that information. 4. Contribute to “Spare a Mask, Save a Life” View this post on Instagram Thanks to @nadine.travels for these awesome donations! She was so thoughtful to include Metro card fare, Emergen-C, and Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards! Most importantly though, the gloves, masks, and cleaning products will aid in stopping the spread of infection for healthcare providers and patients! #SpareAMaskSaveALife #SAMSAL #covid19 #NewYorkStrong A post shared by Spare A Mask, Save A Life (@spareamasksavealife) on Mar 29, 2020 at 8:11pm PDT Two local Astoria nurses are going around New York City with a team of fellow front line workers “collecting donations and distributing them to hospitals to give healthcare workers and many other lives a fighting chance.” If you are able to donate masks, gloves, protective gowns, and/or surgical shoe covers of any quantity, please email spareamasksavealife@gmail.com and they will set up contactless pick-up to ensure everyone’s safety. Updates are posted on @SpareaMaskSaveaLife account. Your Part: While we are doing our very best to take care of everyone’s loved ones, we cannot do it alone. I am here today to ask you for your help on behalf of all the front line workers who are risking their lives every day to reduce the number of lives we lose from this pandemic. What to donate (New or unused): Disposable face masks with or without face shields N95 masks, sometimes called respirators Home-sewn reusable masks Eye protection including face shields and safety goggles Disposable gowns Disposable gloves, especially non-latex Disposable surgical caps Disposable foot covers Wipes: bleach or antimicrobial Hand sanitizer More specialized items: PAPRs (powered air-purifying respirators) and PAPR hoods Nasal testing swabs Viral testing kits What NOT to donate: 3-D printed ventilator parts Medications, food, blankets, medical equipment or other supplies are not needed at this time. If that changes, you will be notified 5. Donate Blood View this post on Instagram Social distancing isn't so bad when you're saving lives, and smiling through it – just ask Justin and Kelly! #nybloodcenter . . . #coronavirus #covid19 #covid_19 #giveblood #givebloodchallenge A post shared by New York Blood Center (@newyorkbloodcenter) on Mar 29, 2020 at 10:01am PDT Blood banks are also critically low and are asking for people to donate blood if they are able to safely commute to any blood bank centers near you. You can find the one closest one online here. This has been deemed “essential travel” by the city. Twitter Facebook Email Print Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.