By Connie Carmany
Okay, Canton, I see that you are already busy being “the helpers” in this time of crisis. Good for you!
First, businesses are stepping up and getting creative. One example – Gervasi Vineyard has transformed its distillery into a hand sanitizer factory – ingenius! Scott Swaldo, the General Manager, has announced that he will begin production soon and will be giving hand sanitizer to local healthcare professionals to help our community. Bravo for Gervasi!
Stark County communities are finding ways to keep up morale. Today’s Canton Repository had an article about Canal Fulton teachers and their students doing “the wave” prior to Ohio’s “stay at home” order taking effect. Teachers drove by homes of their students to beep and wave to them from their cars, with students “catching the wave” and returning it. Another fun way to keep up your spirits!
Our family is coping with the new order in several ways. I am using the time at home to write letters of encouragement to older friends and make phone calls to people with whom I have been out of touch for a while. It’s delightful to catch up! The other day, we got our entire family across the country onto Zoom (a group video chat platform) where we watched the antics of our grandchildren for ½ hour. Then, those of us at home played Scrabble and ate junk food, like we used to do when the kids were small. What a delightful time we had! We and our children are taking turns cooking our best gourmet meals for each other and expanding our meal repertoire. I’ve never eaten so well! So, this is the tip of the iceberg of creative ways to spend your time at home and connect with others.
At the same time, let’s keep in mind those outside our homes who still need help. One group is the recipients of Meals on Wheels. I understand that the number of requests has gone up and the number of volunteers has gone down. They are changing their delivery protocol from hot meals to delivering groceries every other week that the shut-ins can use to fix their own meals. They are in need of volunteers to deliver these groceries to homes of shut-ins. They have instituted safety precautions. So, if you would like to be part of “Everything Good About Canton” right now, this is one opportunity.
Look for the helpers! Be one! Continue to take good care of yourself and your neighbors.
Everything Good About Canton 