This Saturday, I was at Win-Co in the produce section when my cart and another man’s tangled by accident. As we each stammered our apologies he said, “In this country, when things are at their very worst, we as people, are at our very best.” Amen, brother. I think that’s very true, and we keep seeing it again and again right now during these crazy COVID-19 times.
The City has created a central contact point for both our Non-profits in town who serve folks in a variety of ways, and possible volunteers in town who are willing to step up and fill in the gaps. Michael Mays, our Community Development Director is now your Community Volunteer Coordinator (not an official title, I just made that up…) but he is the guy you want to reach out to, if you want to help others.
The fact is, that the core of our current volunteers who serve and help others locally, are generally made up of retired ‘seasoned citizens. These folks quietly go about their work volunteering at a variety of organizations here in town. But these same people may come to feel that they themselves are at risk of getting the coronavirus, and may need to decide to stay home. Thus, the City is trying to be proactive and have a list of folks at the ready.
So far, 32 individuals have signed up to be available – and that’s GREAT! The intention of creating a central database of actors is that we as individuals don’t overwhelm the various agencies here in town with offers. Notify this central contact of your willingness to help, and that way you can be steered toward an agency in actual need.
Likewise, by doing this, the various non-profits in town have Michael as a central contact to let them know what their exact needs are, without making several phone calls or scrambling to find people on their onw. This is a one-stop shop for volunteering in Boulder City. Email Michael at MMays@bcnv.org.
The longer this shut down goes on, the more likely the need will increase. Spread the word and help when you can.