Chloe Riven: A Silver-Lining During COVID-19
My most gratifying experience during this pandemic has been volunteering for Give Essential. When the pandemic hit, I knew I could not just idly watch when there were (and still are) essential workers struggling to put food on the table, to pay for gas after making food deliveries, to provide a birthday present to their kids, and even to pay for rent. I grew inspired by their personal stories when I heard how they balanced working over 40+ hours and financial insecurity, all while serving our country. I needed to take action to help essential workers across the country.
I have worked on many projects with Give Essential, including creating partnerships with healthcare organizations in the hotspot states, participating in weekly operations team meetings, and being the bridge for donors and essential workers to ensure they received their care package. I have sent over 400 emails and completed 100+ successful donor-to-essential worker matches — all of which were incredibly gratifying. Here are two of my favorite thank you notes I have received from the essential workers to their donors:
“I received my packages today. I am so grateful. I just got off of a 24 hour shift this morning where we treated many COVID-19 positive patients in a pre-hospital setting. Please let the donor know how much I truly appreciate their generosity in these trying times and that it is people like this that allows me to get up and do my job day in and day out. And thank you to the Give Essential team for facilitating this. The work you guys do is truly amazing, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. God Bless!”
“I received my gift and I was literally in tears because of her generosity. Please thank her for me. It was truly the highlight of this whole pandemic. It is good to know that even during bad times, there are amazing people out there. This not only helped me, but it helped my elderly parents. She is an angel. Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!”
During the month of September, I also helped organize Labor Month and planned our itinerary for Food Week. I contacted Buzzfeed Chef, Joe Sasto, to join us in a cooking class to raise funds for the frontline. On Sunday, October 4th, I joined him and over 75 participants to cook pasta for frontline workers. We raised a total of $1170 for the frontline!
I will be forever grateful for this life changing opportunity to unite with a team that started with half a dozen people and seeing it grow to over 100 volunteers within just a few months. I will carry the skills I have learned volunteering for Give Essential as I pursue graduate school for my Master’s in Social Work next fall.
There is a glimmer of hope to change the world for the better. When we all come together to help one another and to unite our aching country, it’s a beautiful thing.
CHLOE RIVEN Outreach Volunteer for Give Essential
If you are interested in learning more about Give Essential and would like to volunteer or donate to the frontline, please click here to learn more about how you can get involved.
