During the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be hard to stay positive. Many of us are feeling overwhelmed, scared, and uncertain. But we think it is important to look at the good things that are happening. More people are helping each other and communicating in a way that wasn’t as common before this pandemic occurred. We want to shine a spotlight on some of the inspiring things that people and companies are doing, and give our readers a sense of hope and positivity.

People have come up with all sorts of ways to show appreciation and help each other during these hard times. In cities across the world, when 8 PM rolls around people head to their balconies and yards to cheer, clap, bang pots, and make as much noise as they can to show their support for health care workers. There are countless examples of individuals taking action to make the best of the situation, like this neighborhood in Oakland that threw a “social distance block party” and these people performing music and leading exercises for their apartment buildings.

Social media is a great tool for helping people and spreading positivity. People are using social media to connect people who need help with people who can provide that help. For example, the app Nextdoor (a social media app for your neighborhood) has developed a “help map” feature, where participants can sign up to be “helpers” in their neighborhood. Anyone in the area who needs extra assistance knows that they can contact these people to run errands, do check-ins, etc. Cultural institutions, like museums, are using social media to connect with their fans in new and fun ways. For example, the Getty Museum has posted a challenge online for people to recreate works of art with everyday objects. The results are creative and hilarious, and bring some lightness to the difficult situation of being stuck at home.

Companies and corporations are also taking huge steps to help people during this pandemic. General Motors has partnered with Ventec, a ventilator supply company, to drastically increase the number of ventilators that are being manufactured. This has the added benefit of keeping many GM workers employed that might otherwise have lost their jobs. Some distilleries, such as the Shine Distillery in Portland, have started making hand sanitizer, a critical resource that is currently quite difficult to obtain. These are just a few examples; please check out this Forbes list for more.

At Monterey Language Services, we love seeing all the ways that individuals, organizations and companies are coming together to provide help in this difficult situation. We are doing our best to provide help how we can: we are continuing to provide translation and interpretation services for any client that needs it. We also want to spread the message that we are here for each other, and we can get through this together!