COMMUNITY IN THE TIME OF A PANDEMIC

Karrington Simmons

5th Grade • Amelia Earhart Elementary

Not long ago, I questioned the value of community. Before recently, I just saw communities as groups of people that lived in the same neighborhood or town that did not have close connections with each other. At least that is how I saw my community. But, in the time of the pandemic, I have begun to see the true value of community, and I also understand what communities I am a member of and how I can contribute to their impacts.

I am a member of my school, basketball team, church, neighborhood, the city of Chicago, the Black community, and most importantly, the community of the United States of America. Before the pandemic, I often overlooked the fact that I could be an essential part of communities because I did not see things always working together. During the quarantine, I have been able to see how neighborhoods have come together to brighten people’s days. In Chicago alone, I have seen multiple drive by’s for graduates, food pantries and churches provide food to those in need and the donations of masks to different hospitals. I’m amazed by what I’ve seen and I hope that it will continue when the quarantine is over.

In March, the Governor of Illinois entered a shelter-in-place order, which was right before many luncheons, proms and graduations were scheduled to take place. Instead of having

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the usual graduation ceremonies, people were creative doing virtual celebrations and drive-by’s.

Our former President Barack Obama, along with other celebrities, also took the time to create a video for the 2020 graduates, which was beautiful and inspiring. I was very happy to see the graduates be honored in this way.

For a long time, pollution has been a problem in neighborhoods around the world. Being forced to stay home allows you to appreciate being outdoors much more, and many citizens have taken it upon themselves to start the process of cleaning up their neighborhoods. People taking time out of their day to do small tasks like picking up trash or planting flowers has tremendously improved the beauty of the environment.

Since there is a need for more testing kits and supplies for the virus, many organizations have developed campaigns to earn money or donate masks to hospitals. Many big companies all across the United States have a mission to give thousands of masks to hospitals in need of PPE. Hospital staff have expressed appreciation of the support and are very thankful during this time for the donations because there is not enough PPE for the hospital staff to replace regularly as they should.

Another thing that was very appreciative done by different communities was giving back to citizens. Many people from churches, schools, restaurants, and food pantries packed bags full of breakfast and lunch foods and gave them to the different people in need of them. This was very sweet, especially because many people have lost their jobs and cannot afford food.

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Communities are like families. Many people have given back to those who need help the most, and this shows how communities can come together when we are in times of need. Our communities give hope to citizens, do things that put smiles on our faces, and give back to others. I am proud to see how my community and communities all over the US have responded during the pandemic.

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