Dear CRC Supporter,
To say this has been a month of change is an understatement. I am writing this note to all of you from home while my sixth grader does online school in the room next to me. My 17-year-old son is doing his 10th set of sit ups as he deals with the loss of freedoms, friends (for the time being) and baseball season.
My college son is on a higher level of quarantine, having just returned through Madrid from a cancelled school semester abroad. When we head to the grocery stores, we don’t know what we will find.... some days there are eggs and sometimes not. Sometimes there is a line just to get in, and sometimes not.
Last week, the CRC Volunteer Program went through a series of very quick changes, sometimes overnight.
- Our interns went home.
- Many of our volunteers decided to stay home in order to stay safe and keep others safe.
- Our Food Pantry volunteer needs shifted immensely.
- Our Resale Stores closed the back areas, and then closed altogether.
- Our English Tea was moved to an online platform.
In all of that, CRC volunteers showed patience, support and grace. For that, I am incredibly grateful! We move ahead these next few weeks not quite knowing what we will need or what is in store. However, I am confident that those who continue to need care will receive it.
I walked my dog around the block on Saturday, unaware that there was a social media challenge to “Chalk the Walk.” I kept noticing sidewalk chalk art. Sunshine, rainbows, smiling stick figures waving to me. There were encouraging words like “You are not alone” and “Hello neighbor!” “We will get through this!” and “Social distance doesn’t mean we aren’t together.”
That last one hit me. It describes how I feel about CRC volunteers right now. While staying safe ourselves, we are still together. Some are still coming in to run the food pantry, some are checking in via emails or just checking our website for updates. CRC volunteers have always had incredible empathy for those who are facing uncertainty, health issues, food insecurity, and trauma.
Perhaps now more than ever we can understand those emotions and when life returns to “normal,” that renewed empathy will make us a force to be reckoned with.
We will continue to let you know what we need. We continue to hope you are all well. If you are currently volunteering, we will do our best to reach out to you with any updates.
Warmly,
Sara Rosenbaum,
CRC Volunteer Manager
