Show your appreciation
Seven years ago, I started to say “thank you for coming to work today” to whomever I came in contact with who was providing a service for me. I said this to wait help, cashiers, tellers, nurses, mail and parcel delivery people, airline pilots, flight attendants, my dentist and doctor, etc. Their first reaction was shock, then came a smile or laughter, and then they would say you’re very welcome. Sometimes, I would hear stories how they almost didn’t make it to work.
In these trying times and when it’s over with and we’re back to a normal life, try putting a smile on everyone who went to work to provide a service for you. It’ll make you feel good, too.
D. M. Yoshimura
Hilo
Support needed to help vulnerable residents
Rotary Club of Kona wishes to draw attention to the hardships that threaten the health and well-being of some of our most vulnerable local residents with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Food supplies, in particular, are becoming increasingly scarce because many of the resources which the needy once had at their disposal are no longer available. For example, Salvation Army resources have diminished significantly since the organization had to close its thrift store and daycare facilities due to the crisis; at the same time, the demand on its resources has experienced an extreme increase due to the growing needs of the homeless and other under-served residents.
The Salvation Army hot meal programs have gone from serving out 100 meals a week to 460-500, largely because they have added a weekend component to their program. Their food basket demand has gone from 80-100 to 500. As for the Rotary Club, our Meat-and-Eat program, which once served 50-100 meals per week, is now providing 400 weekend lunches plus food baskets, and many of our own members have donated both money and manpower to the cause. Rotary is also providing lunches for a county housing program for the homeless in which the Holiday Inn provides 40 rooms for the homeless during this crisis.
Not surprisingly, the increase in such services comes at a cost — it is estimated that the price to properly provide these services for two months will be $170,000. We have raised $30,000 so far, leaving us well short and in desperate need of an infusion of funds to support these programs. If you have the means to contribute to some of these worthy projects, please consider a donation through the Rotary Club of Kona website at www.rotaryclubofkona.com.
John Spicer
President, Rotary Club of Kona
Wear a mask, keep us all safe
I was shopping at Costco Thursday evening and was horrified to see so many other shoppers who were not wearing masks — not only for their safety, but also for mine.
Pay attention, people. Whatever you might have heard before, wearing a cloth mask when out in public is one of the best ways we have of tamping down this virus. There is growing evidence that many people can be asymptomatic and still spread the virus to those who are more susceptible — and that might be me.
The fact that we have only seen a few cases here on our island doesn’t mean the virus isn’t percolating and that we won’t soon join the rest of the country in more illnesses and some deaths.
There are dozens of YouTube videos on how to sew a mask or even easier ways to make a mask without sewing. It is still important to maintain a 6-foot distance with other people and hand washing is no less critical than before. But, let’s use all the tools we have to keep our island (and me) safe from this disease.
Phyllis Hanson
Keauhou
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