Crazy Times Call for Creative Measures

If you are like me, your inbox is getting flooded with various businesses reaching out to let you know how they are responding to COVID-19. We are certainly experiencing a historic event as we navigate these uncharted waters. There have been some great, thoughtful, notes and many of them contain some creative approaches to our current situation.

While I had intended to release a post about some killer beer from Monday Night Brewing that I had earlier in the week, I’m going to hold that post for a day or two. Like many of us, the current situation is on my heart, so here we are.

In my regular job, I am fortunate to get to work with higher education. Many institutions are shifting to online learning. We’ve even had a few instances where the semester has been called off entirely. We’re now also seeing this in the K-12 sector across the country. Businesses across the country are reacting similarly. Events are being cancelled, hotels, airlines and cruise ships are seeing massive declines. All of this being done proactively to stop the spread of this virus. I am hopeful that these steps will lead us through the storm more expediently than it would have otherwise.

However, as we look across all of these sectors, there are many who can’t just work from home. There are a lot of people like that in our own community, many who are dependent on tips as well. While the natural reaction is to bolster our own homes to hunker down for a bit, I want to prompt the question, how can we be creative and support our brothers and sisters during this time?

If, and more likely, when, my office decides to shift to remote work I expect I will go stir crazy in a matter of days. While at this point groups of people are of no concern to me and I fully intend to get out of the house, things can change. So, how can I still support my community? Here are some thoughts:

• Buy local whenever possible. From goods to food and beer, I need to be willing to take a moment and get out to the local shops and spend my dollars there.
• Consider take-out food from locally owned places I wouldn’t normally. Even if this means driving a few extra miles and making a phone call versus a much-easier online order, it’s worthwhile. A lot of places will do meals to go, you just gotta ask.
• Crowler runs. I love doing these and haven’t done it since football season but it’s easy. I pick three spots that I know have crowlers that are relatively close to one another and I swing by and buy a crowler at each. You might want to buy two, or add a place that fills growlers or sells cans. It gets you out and about for a short bit and it supports our friends. Don’t forget our local bottle shops!
• Be grateful and tip a little more, even when I wouldn’t normally. Our local places are already seeing a downturn – I’ve heard business owners talk about this over the last few weeks. Thank them – and their teams – for continuing forward one day at a time. While I wouldn’t normally tip – or tip as much – for a quick package purchase from the cooler, I think we need to waive this guidance for a while.

Have other thoughts? Let us know. We’re happy to add to the list.

In the meantime, stay well, wash your hands, and stay hydrated (this means water too). There is no doubt we’ll get through this crazy time and be stronger for it.

Cheers!