At NOVA ScriptsCentral our biggest focus has always been our community. Good times and bad, our first thought in any decision making process is “Will this help our community?”
It sounds like a fundamentally simple question to answer and relatively straightforward to ask. As we have learned in the past few weeks from around the world thanks to the #CoronaVirus, that is not the first question asked by some of the world’s leaders, for some it’s not a question that is ever asked. However, as this crisis has spread and grown we have seen a remarkable power grow throughout the world and that power is people.
People taking initiative.
People making an impact.
People standing up and asking “How can I help others?”
Take for example Share of McLean. An organization that provides everything from food to technology and furniture to those in our community that need help. Share McLean, during the best of times, is all about making sure the people of McLean get food they need with Pantry Shopping made available to those who need it. Do you think that the Corona Virus is going to stop them? That social distancing will stop them from providing their desperately needed service? Not a chance. They have restructured their business model during this COVID-19 pandemic offering Grab and Go boxes instead. This adaptation is essential to so many who have trouble meeting the demands of a society that is fighting off a silent invasion.
And, keeping with the organizations that have adjusted how they operate, there are many out there like Culmore Clinic that normally provide clinical care but because of the CoronaVirus they can’t help people in person. Most community based non-profits are working on shoestring budgets so a crisis like this can be incredibly challenging to manage. However, Culmore Clinic has taken their practice virtual. While they are not able to provide in-Clinic care for those exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 (coughing, fever), they are working diligently to provide tele-medical visits (with interpretation services) and advising patients of the best, and most current course of action advised by the CDC and Fairfax County Health Department.
Another amazing samaritan is Halle Tecco who is doing incredible work not just in our community but across the country. The founder of Natalist and adjunct Professor at the Columbia Business School is dedicated to improving the healthcare industry through philanthropy and investment. After working in the technology sector with companies like Apple and Intel she chose to dedicate her time to improve the health of the people in the nation’s communities.
With the accelerating spread of the CoronaVirus Halle stepped up even more and got her colleagues to do the same. Together they have donated $450k and counting in total to local (like ours), national and international organizations doing what they can in their own communities. In addition to us she has coordinated donations to organizations like Movimiento Cosecha, mRelief, Ladies of Hope Ministries, and MedGlobal to name a few. Visit all of these organizations and consider making a small donation and follow in the foot steps of someone like Halle Tecco, who understands we are all in this together.
And last, but not least Northern Virginia Family Services among many programs designed to benefit our community is on the forefront helping people who have been impacted financially by the COVID-19 outbreak. It is the topic of many conversations, how people are going to be strained even more as jobs are lost and the economy struggles. So the fact that this organization has decided to tackle that hurdle in our community to some degree is impressive in and of itself.
We know we have left organizations out by just highlighting a few, however follow us on Twitter and send us a tweet about your organization and we can add you to part two of this article where we are generating a list of organizations doing great things in the Northern Virginia area! Feel free to send links to web pages where we can drive traffic as well. We are all in this together and based on what we are seeing with the organizations we are talking to, we are feeling good about how we as a community are handling this crisis.