As a youth movement coordinator in Hod Hasharon, the last month or so has been a series of cancellations and disappointments: Poland trip cancelled, youth movement branch closed, students at home. All activity has moved to the screen.
The helplessness of not being able to leave home has met our students’ desire to take responsibility for the situation and our society, to express solidarity, to care for others, to volunteer to do whatever is necessary… And so we had to ask: what is the role of the youth movement during this coronavirus crisis?
A few days ago someone suggested a new idea – phone help for senior citizens.
So we asked the Hod Hasharon municipality for a list of senior citizen residents of the city, and we started calling – all from home.
I sent out a whatsapp message to all our 11th grade members and boom! I got a flood of responses from dozens of teens, “Hey I heard about the project. It sounds really important!!! Can I help too?”
And so a few hours later we started a major telephone operation.
Each volunteer got a senior citizen’s phone number and called to ask how they’re doing, what’s it like being at home, do they need any help getting food/medication/books or just want to talk?
The responses were amazing!
“Shir, if there’s more calls to make please send them to me!”
“She’s amazing!!!! We talked for 20 minutes!!!”
“I wrote that she needs help… Can you make sure that she really actually gets help?”
So I wanted to say:
Open your head and your heart. There’s surely something that everyone can do to help with the situation, and to help us all feel less alone, and to care for one another during this time of crisis.