How to Support Your Community While Social Distancing

Life is difficult for everyone right now. You probably know plenty of people in your community who are struggling to make ends meet, or feeling lonely, scared or discouraged. Despite school and business closures and social distancing, there are still ways you can support your neighbors at this time. Everyone here at Landers Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram is proud of the determination, grit and drive we are seeing from our local community in this time of need, and love seeing people working to help Central Arkansas through this trying moment in our nation’s history. Want to help, but don’t know where to start? Here are a few of the ways you can help your neighbors and help lift up those who are hurting from a distance! 

Support Local Businesses 

When you support local businesses, you support your friends and neighbors right here in Arkansas. Small business owners rely on their customers to pay their employees, pay their bills and put food on the table. In addition, the payroll spent by these businesses is largely folded right back into the community, helping workers weather this trying time. Businesses may be closed, but there are still plenty of ways to support them. Many restaurants are still open and offer curbside pickup, takeaway and delivery, and every meal you order helps not only the people who work there, but helps your favorite burger place, pizza joint or sushi restaurant stay alive. You can support local retail shops and stores by shopping online or purchasing a gift card for future use. You can also send a food or service industry worker a tip through the Virtual Tip Jar. The Little Rock virtual tip jar is a spreadsheet of food and service workers in Little Rock who normally collect tips to pay their bills. You can see hundreds of workers on this list and send tips through Venmo or Paypal. 

Consider Donating Blood 

Even as hospitals are working to beat back the disease, other emergencies are happening too, including those accidents that require life-saving blood transfusions to survive. Because people are reluctant to give blood due to uncertainty about Covid-19, there is a critical need for blood and platelet donations right now. Blood drives are being cancelled at an alarming rate due to closures, along with health and safety concerns during the Covid-19 pandemic. If you are healthy and able, consider donating blood to help ease this burden. If you have recovered from Covid-19, you might also be eligible to give “convalescent plasma,” which contains natural antibodies that could save the life of a person who is desperately ill with the disease. To learn more about donating blood, visit the American Red Cross Website.

Donate to a Local Charity or Organization

Many people in our community are struggling to make ends meet or just put food on the table, but our local charities and nonprofits are still out there, helping ease the financial burden and worry of those in need by providing food, shelter, medicine and more to families, the elderly, children and the vulnerable in our community. By making a donation to a local charity or organization like the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, you can help feed Arkansans in need with direct assistance.   

Send a Hand-Written Letter

With older and medically-vulnerable people required to isolate as much as possible to keep them safe, the unseen pandemic-within-a-pandemic of the Covid-19 era has been loneliness. One way that you can help keep up the spirits of a person who might not be able to venture out much is by writing them a letter. Hand-written letters are rare these days, which makes them a real treat for those who receive them, as well as a keepsake of this time in all our lives. Consider writing notes to those who are in isolation, like people in nursing homes or retirement facilities. You might also think about writing thank you letters to those who are working hard on the front lines to keep people safe, like doctors, nurses, fire departments and police departments. This is a great activity to help take your mind off things, and a very good way to keep children occupied while they are out of school, helping them share their thanks and good wishes to people in need while learning the true spirit of compassion. In addition to helping someone who might be feeling the strain of isolation, it will make you feel great too!

We at Landers Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram are honored to be a part of the Central Arkansas community, and have been humbled to see all the ways people right here in this state we love are working to help get us through this trying time. We know that life is challenging right now, and that’s why we’re doing all we can to keep our customers and employees safe and comfortable. If you require special accommodations at this time, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We are here for you!