Grassroots Goodness
Editor’s Note: Originally published November 24, 2020. Updated December 2, 2021.
“Whatever the problem, community is the answer. ”
I’d been noticing a trend on social media of offers by everyday people to help anyone who needs it. That is not something you see every day, especially on social media. What is this world coming to? Turns out it’s grassroots goodness. Here’s what I found out.
Volunteers Ready and Waiting
Every couple of weeks I saw postings in community groups on Facebook offering free services by a group of volunteers to help with anything from yard work to housework. “Anything you need to make your to-do list smaller and lighter.”
Adri Lewis and Abby Folkman work with a group of 250 volunteers from Seattle to Bellingham. When a request comes in on social media they reach out to the volunteer who lives closest for coordination. They typically help with yard work like raking and weeding and sometimes even with dog walking and moving.
Volunteers ready to check something off your list // Courtesy Adri Lewis
Adri is from a small town where she felt a sense of unity, with neighbors always helping one another. She is a missionary with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but she does her volunteer work because her family had once been helped by others when they were in need. She wants to pay it forward and give others the same sense of unity she felt growing up.
The group is willing to help out neighbors and non-profit organizations alike and in case you miss their occasional social media post, you can give them a call for help at (425) 599-8787.
Buy Nothing Pizza
Sheridan Perkins has been buying Papa Murphy’s Pizza for neighbors in my Buy Nothing group on Facebook. Sheridan’s family was once in need and others took care of them by providing food. It was her son’s idea to give a pizza dinner to the group. A couple of times a month the family gets Papa Murphy’s on $12 Tuesdays and have found it is simple enough to pick up an extra pizza to deliver to another family.
Meaningful Christmas Connections
Ten years ago Courtni Kenyon’s family faced financial hardship and she found the process to receive donated food and toys for her children during the holidays to be impersonal, lacking empathy and it left her feeling humiliated. The following year she was in a position to help and contacted a family directly to find out how she could help them through the holiday season. Her efforts grew each year with friends and co-workers joining in to form The Do-ers. Today The Do-ers is run by 12 amazing women.
A Christmas dinner box ready to go // Courtesy The Do-ers
This holiday season they are busy partnering up volunteers to help make the holidays special for families with Christmas dinner boxes. Volunteers who want to help fill out a form with their location and budget, and are matched with a family based on their location, needs and likes. If someone does not have money to donate, they may be partnered with someone who does, but may not have the time to shop or deliver the dinner box.
The Do-ers have all the volunteers they need to donate Christmas Dinner Boxes for this year. Follow them on Facebook for future opportunities to help.
Community Network
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, volunteers in King County mobilized to create a mutual aid network to provide the community with the support they knew was going to be needed - food, supplies, transportation, etc. The group planned to support several Snohomish County cities as well. Retiree Leslie Brown, with experience that includes working with Seattle Indivisible and Immigrant Solidarity, took over managing the Snohomish County requests for help and volunteers and the Snohomish County COVID/Coronavirus Mutual Aid Group was founded.
The idea behind a mutual aid network is that everyone needs help with something and everyone has something to offer. A mutual aid network is not governed by non-profit organizational rules, making them nimble to meet immediate needs. Groceries can be purchased by a volunteer and easily be reimbursed through Go Fund Me funds.
The group has forms to fill out to request aid and to volunteer to help. They have a Go Fund Me account as well.
It should be acknowledged that there is a lot of good work being done that we don’t see on social media. Maybe you are donating money, checking on friends and family or sharing resource information. Whatever you are doing to help others, every little thing helps to strengthen our community, so thank you.
If you are finding that you are overwhelmed and just can’t get things done, let alone help others, that is okay and a sign that you need to work on self-care right now. If you need mental health support, please see our Mental Health Resource Guide. Please ask for the help you need because there are people ready and waiting.
Linda War Bonnet represents south Everett on the Live in Everett Team. When she isn’t working, she is running the Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association. You might spot her walking her dog in the Holly neighborhood.
