How Can We Help?

I’m not going to lie, I’m frightened. Though in my heart of hearts, I’m certain we will recover from this and everything will be okay. It will be okay because, despite our political divide, we as human beings come together in times of need by pitching in when necessary and making sacrifices for the greater good. We are resilient and good and kind. If you’re asking yourself, “How can I help?” like we are, then I’ve got a few ideas for you.  Start by staying home as much as you can. I know, it’s counter intuitive for a store owner to be saying that, but, with the absence of any data on this virus, we don’t know how far reaching it is and can’t take risks. To do our part, Red Barn Mercantile and Penny Post have moved to a curbside pick-up and appointment only shopping experience. We are quickly creating a website for Penny Post and are adding items to Red Barn’s site at a rapid pace so you can shop online.Then, where you can and however you can, please support your local businesses by shopping online, buying gift cards, doing take out, sending flowers, etc. For some of us this will set us back years or even cause us to close our doors permanently. Forget what that means for us as owners and remember what that means for the people we employ. People like the line chef who supports his family or the store manager that supports herself. The list goes on and they need us.  Finally, support a local charity that is helping the folks that are most affected. Our non-profit community serves thousands of people in need and is already stretched thin. The days ahead are going to take an even bigger toll on their resources. If you can give to your favorite cause, then please do it now. I will be donating to the ACT Now COVID-19 Response Fund, through ACT for Alexandria, which was created to respond to the needs of nonprofit organizations providing critical services to Alexandrians in response to a significant community crisis, in this case, the COVID-19 outbreak. They are looking to raise $200,000 to provide emergency grants to non-profits. If you don’t know what cause to give to, then start here because ACT knows the non-profit community and can safely guide your funds to the right organization.If you want to direct your own funds, then here are a few organizations that are key to helping the people most in need right now.

• • ALIVE! Inc.– Now that schools are closed, many kids will be missing two meals a day that they received in school. Also, as the economy takes a hit, more families will be stretched financially and in need of food. ALIVE! is gearing up their food distribution efforts and will be helping to feed folks in need.
• • Senior Services of Alexandria– Along with folks with compromised immune systems, our senior citizens are the ones most at risk. Senior Services of Alexandria serves those who are most susceptible to COVID-19 and provide a vital lifeline to homebound seniors through their meals on wheels program.
• • Community Lodgings– they provide low-income housing and support for their surrounding community. As a neighborhood hub in the Chirilagua neighborhood, Community Lodgings provides low-income housing and support for their surrounding community. During this time, they are helping to get food and other needs to the folks who are struggling.

I want to thank everyone for banding together and for those of you who have offered our teams your kind words and your hard-earned dollars. We know how fortunate we are to do business in this wonderful community, and we look forward to the day when things get back to normal and we can serve once again. Until then, chin up, my friends! We will get through this together!!