This is a tough time for everyone, especially nonprofits. The economy is faulting, the COVID-19 pandemic is raging, and many of us are isolated at home. Are you looking for some encouraging news? We are, too! We decided to compile some stories of good news to help us all feel a little better at this moment.
Rolo, Very Pleased with Owner’s Self-Isolation
Did you hear about the dachshund, Rolo, who sprained his tail from wagging it? He was so happy about his owner, Emily, staying home all the time that he just couldn’t stop wagging his tail. Based in the UK, his owner’s tweet about his sprained tail garnered over one million likes and 141,000 retweets. Luckily, his veterinarian expects Rolo to make a full recovery with a week of pain medication. Emily eventually started an Instagram for his new fans to follow his rehabilitation.
Seniors Play Real-Life Game of Hungry, Hungry Hippo
Social distancing is hard on all of us. It is especially confining to senior citizens who are often confined to their residency without visitors in assisted living facilities. These women in the Bryn Celyn Care Home in Maesteg, Wales found a fun way to pass the time. They invented a version of the popular children’s board game “Hungry, Hungry Hippos” in real life. They modified the game of capturing marbles by using baskets on the end of sticks to gather balls from the floor.
“Residents really enjoyed playing a new game today: Hungry Hippos. Lots of laughter to lift morale of the team and residents!” wrote the nursing home.
Since the video was published to Facebook on Thursday, it has already racked up more than 1.8 million views.
Boardable CEO Jeb Banner Creates Venmo List for Service Workers
A little closer to home, our own CEO, Jeb Banner, wanted to do something to support service workers in the Indianapolis area who are currently out of work due to the COVID-19 outbreak. These restaurant servers, bartenders, hairstylists, and others in the service profession have had their establishments closed to contain the pandemic for the last two weeks, seriously impacting their personal finances. Jeb decided to compile a list of Venmo information for individuals who wanted the help, and circulate it to people to support the establishments they would frequent in normal times.
“If anything I was trying to solve my own problem of just wanting to continue patronizing these businesses,” he says.
There are now over 3,000 local. service workers on the spreadsheet. It is something that Jeb hopes will spread to other towns to support those most immediately impacted by the pandemic.
“You know, with these kinds of things, if you bring something to the world at the right time it tends to catch fire and it’s neat to see people taking to it,” he says.
The story has been picked up. by media all over the country, including The New York Times. No doubt other caring entrepreneurs will come up with other ways to help during these unusual times.
Penguins Go on A Field Trip at the Aquarium
When the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago had to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the animal caretakers decided to mix things up a bit. With an empty indoor aquarium area, they decided to let the rockhopper penguins explore the building. A few days after posting the video, the adorable explorers had over 300,000 views and growing.
The aquarium told the Chicago Tribune that caretakers are “getting creative in how they provide enrichment to animals” and “introducing new experiences, activities, foods and more to keep them active, encourage them to explore, problem-solve and express natural behaviors.”
With the aquarium still closed until April, the caretakers took three penguins, Bosco, Iris, and Calista on a second field trip. They seemed intrigued by the fish in the tanks and lifted the spirits of animal lovers everywhere, especially in Chicago.
Helpers Are Everywhere
We know these are tough times for all of our morale, but the Boardable team compiled all these stories this week to remind us all that good things are happening. People all over the world are doing their best in these times, and so are we! Have a suggestion of how we can cover more good news or help nonprofits? We always welcome your feedback and ideas. Keep up the good work.
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