Whether you open up the New York Times, turn on CNN, or listen to a podcast, the common theme, obviously, is coronavirus. While we are all social distancing in our homes to avoid catching and spreading this virus, it seems as if we cannot escape it. Yes, we may not all fall ill to this virus – but every time I turn on my TV, phone, or computer, I am overwhelmed by the rapidly increasing COVID-19 cases, overwhelmed by the rising death rate, and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information constantly streamed. During this time – while so many of us are scared, if not for ourselves than for our at-risk friends and family members, it is so important to thank those who are risking their lives or doing good for their communities! In fact, we have a few members of the QUEST community who have been working hard to #dogood for their communities.
Aditi Balachandran, a Cohort 31 Finance and Operations Management & Business Analytics major, is working alongside her family to “put together the plastic face shield that hospital workers use to cover their full face over the masks.” When asked how she got involved in this, Aditi explained that her “friend’s father owns a manufacturing company that he converted into a shield production factory during COVID-19. So, my family and I have been buying the shields from him, putting them together, and donating the shields. We have also been securing other PPE to donate as well. We have donated over 2,400 shields already and are going to be giving another 500 tomorrow! Our medical professionals are the true heroes, and we wanted to help in any way we could. They are risking their lives every day, but they do not even have the equipment to go to work safely. My family and I could not stand just being at home without doing something to keep them safe.” Aditi and her family are donating the masks as well as the PPE straight to the hospitals. “We are in contact with many different hospitals within New Jersey, and we also just donated some to the local EMTs and police force.” If you would like to help Aditi and her family procure more shields to help keep our heroes safe, you can donate to her GoFundMe cause at ter.ps/SFH. Even a donation of $5 can help one hero!
David Rosenstein, a Cohort 29 Marketing major and incoming LinkedIn Business Leadership Program Global Sales Associate, has directly helped our QUEST community during this time by conducting a free professional LinkedIn webinar to help improve students’ LinkedIn pages. According to Expanded Ramblings, 94% of recruiters use LinkedIn to vet candidates. Therefore, David hoped this webinar would help the QUEST community continue to secure new jobs during the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus. David said, “When QUEST reached out and asked if I wanted to do a professional webinar, I felt so motivated by others in QUEST who have rallied together to build out a strong community and keep everyone together. Seeing those in my community who are willing to go out and offer services or donate to charities has been so inspirational for me and has helped me to stay motivated to contribute to others. I hope this attitude of giving and unconditional empathy continues within our world. It has helped me to rethink my actions.” David is also offering free LinkedIn consultations during this time. You can sign up here!
QUEST alumnus Sahil Rahman (Cohort 17), owner of the Indian restaurant RASA in Washington, D.C., decided to give back during this time by providing free take-out meals for both school children who rely on the schools for their daily meals and hospital workers. Although restaurant businesses are suffering, RASA found a way to open its doors to its community during these challenging times. If you want to read more about how Sahil and the RASA team have been giving back to the community, click here.
Thank you Aditi, David, Sahil, and everyone else who has been helping to give back and do good in our community. The work you do to help others is inspirational and a reminder that every person’s actions counts.