10 Ways to Help Your Community During a Crisis
What’s Inside: Simple, but thoughtful ways to help your community during a crisis — even when you’re staying close to home! Sponsored by Butter Braid® brand.
10 Ways to Serve Your Community During a Crisis
The past couple months have been an experience that has kept us all far apart physically, but in many ways has brought us closer together.
We’ve lived through a few major disasters in Houston in recent years, including Hurricane Harvey and Tropical Storm Imelda. Both were devastating, but at the same time, it was inspiring to see our community rally to help each other rebuild.
The current pandemic is different because there are still shelter-in-place orders in many parts of the country. How do you help your neighbors and loved ones when you’re supposed to stay apart?
The good news is that it IS possible to serve your community and bring joy to your friends and family, all while practicing safe social distancing!
I put together this list to share some of the ways our family has tried to help out in our community, as well as ideas from some of my creative friends. I hope it inspires you to get involved, even from home!
1. Bake Sweet Treats for Loved Ones or Essential Workers
Nothing says “I Love You” like delicious food! That’s actually how my husband won me over — by cooking for me!
Even if you’re not a pro in the kitchen, you can still whip up a wow-worthy treat to drop off for friends and family, or even essential workers that you know.
Our family stocked up on Butter Braid® pastries to keep in our freezer for those occasions. Just last week we baked a couple pastries for my mother-in-law (a live-in caretaker), her sister, and her patient. They’ve been cooped up at home for two months now and were delighted when we made them a sweet surprise!
What are Butter Braid pastries?
Made from hand-braided Danish dough and sweet fillings, Butter Braid pastries are compact in size when frozen, but bake up into gorgeous loaves of flaky sweet bread with warm fruit or cream in the middle.
Imagine combining your favorite jelly-filled donut or danish with a fluffy loaf of sweet brioche bread. It’s a treat like no other! I’m so glad we have a few more left in the freezer!
Yes, they taste as amazing as they sound (and look!)
Where to Find Butter Braid Pastries
Butter Braid pastries are sold exclusively through fundraisers and local dealers, so promoting these products means you are also supporting the local schools, clubs, and organizations that sell them.
Click here to find your local Butter Braid pastry dealer!
Your local Butter Braid pastry dealer can help connect you with a fundraiser in your area so you can not only purchase your favorite Butter Braid pastry flavors, but also support a worthwhile cause. I highly recommend stocking up anytime you find a Butter Braid fundraiser near you — or starting a fundraiser for your own organization!
2. Leave Notes in Mailbox for Postal Carriers
Rain or shine, throughout natural disasters and pandemics, our postal carriers keep us connected and our mail arriving on time.
It’s so simple to leave a thank you note or card for those who are working hard for us and let them know how much we appreciate them!
3. Create Random Acts of Kindness Kits
Brandi (the creative mind behind Gluesticks Blog) and her kids created these adorable handmade boxes filled with sweet notes and little treats that they dubbed “Kindness Kits.”
They’re perfect to make with kids and hide around the house or to drop off at a neighbor or loved one’s home to brighten their day.
4. Make Face Masks
In many communities, masks are strongly encouraged or even required when visiting a public space. However, they are expensive to buy and hard to find!
The good news is that it is easier than you might think to make your own masks — I know because I made 10 of them for family members without masks!
I used old t-shirts to make my face masks and shoelaces for the adjustable ties. Simple to make and washable so you can use them again and again!
If you have a sewing machine, this is a wonderful way to give back to your community!
5. Host Video Calls with Family
At the beginning of the stay at home orders in April, my mom set up a twice-weekly video chat with our extended family. I couldn’t believe my eyes when all of my aunts and uncles, granny, and even most of my cousins showed up!
Over the years, we’ve all moved across the country and don’t see each other very often. However, we’ve all made these bi-weekly video chats a priority and it has been wonderful catching up and growing closer to my family again.
We even have theme nights once a week!
Video chats are easy to set up and there are quite a few free options — we are truly blessed by this technology that can be used to stay in touch!
6. Deliver Happy Mail
Remember how exciting it was as a kid whenever you received a letter or postcard in the mail? Even today with email and social media, it’s still such a treat to receive a handwritten card or note!
Ludavia at The Mommy Workshop has coined the term “Happy Mail” to describe the colorful, decorated cards that she and her kids make and drop off at neighbors homes. They also mail them to family and friends who live further away.
7. Write Notes for the Neighbors with Sidewalk Chalk
You can also coordinate with your neighbors so that they decorate the sidewalk in front of their home too. That way there are cheerful drawings all along the sidewalks when anyone takes a walk through the neighborhood!
Little Sprouts Learning shared this sweet photo of drawing they made! Click here to see more of their thoughtful ideas to encourage others during a time of crisis.
8. Build Blessing Bags for the Homeless
As a former veteran, Susan at Organized31.com knows the importance of foot care when you’re on your feet all day. She points out that socks are one of the most needed, yet least donated items at homeless shelters.
Putting together “blessing bags” for vulnerable members in our society filled with essentials and handwritten notes is a simple way to help the community.
9. Brighten Your Window with the One Million Cranes Project
Cranes symbolize happiness, hope, and healing. That’s why our friend Agnes at Hello, Wonderful chose them for her One Million Cranes Project.
The idea is simple: create origami cranes and hang them in your window to show community love. The goal is to make over 1 million paper cranes to brighten neighborhoods across the country.
Some communities have done similar projects, like rainbows and paper hearts. You can learn more about the One Million Cranes Project here.
10. Thank Your Teachers
As the school year wraps up, there’s no better time to thank our teachers for all their hard work, especially this year with all the changes! They essentially had to come up with a whole new lesson plan and adapt to teaching students from afar!
A couple years ago I put together a collection of crafts and gift ideas that kids could make for their teachers — things that teachers would actually find useful!
Click here to see some of our favorite kid-made teacher appreciation gifts!
Share the Good with Butter Braid Pastries
Besides the fact that the pastries are absolutely delicious, the one thing that stuck with me about the Butter Braid® brand is their commitment to family and “sharing the good.”
What started as a family business quickly grew to a nationwide company that helps other entrepreneurs follow their dreams. As a small business owner myself, I love to see other success stories!
When you fundraise with the Butter Braid brand, you can count on three things:
- Great experience
- Simple programs
- Proven products
With a world class organization and products that sell themselves, fundraisers are guaranteed to be a success with Butter Braid pastries.
Click here to learn more about Butter Braid pastries and fundraisers!
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