In a world struggling with COVID-19, a bit of imagination by some youths goes a long way toward helping people not only cope, but also survive. In recent articles in the Minneapolis StarTribune (9-5-20) by Erin Golden, Gail Rosenblum, and Jill Lawless (AP), we see the many ways.
Fifteen-year-old student Tanisha K. found she had plenty of spare time and decided to put it to good use. Knowing that many were struggling with online learning, she started a free virtual tutoring service called Geniusprep. Recruiting friends to help her, she set up a website. Lesson plans were developed and more than thirty student volunteers signed up. Struggling students from the Twin Cities and stretching across the country took advantage. Similar organizations were started, and even some retired college professors volunteered.
Ainsley S., an honors graduate of Normandale Community College, discovered that as many as a third of students were “food insecure,” so she began to work closely with the Campus Cupboard to provide readily available bags of food. Busy with that and other outreach, she has decided not to go on to college, instead opting for a gap year.
With their father a 73-year-old COVID-19 patient on a ventilator in intensive care in London, sons Nicky and Sam W. tried to devise a way to make better what potentially were his last days. Knowing he was an avid book reader, they hoped he would enjoy the audible words from an e-reader. The doctors had said there was power in hearing a voice, even if unconscious. Naming their project, Books for Dad, they worked to come up with donations of e-readers and headphones for other patients, initially delivering 20 sets. Through hard work, that has grown to 5,000! More good news: after almost four months of hospitalization and 67 days on a ventilator, their father was discharged.
Thank you, creative thinkers Tanisha, Ainsley, Nicky, and Sam for your Love Lived Large dealing with the many obstacles of COVID-19.