Love, in the time of corona: The heartwarming stories of kindness and humanity emerging out of the COVID-19 crisis

A local resident in Sydney’s Newtown snapped this extraordinary example of community caring.

“Take what you need, leave what you can” reads the sign on the door of this public pantry, offering food, toilet paper and other essentials.

There are also many messages of appreciation and well-wishes scattered over the doors – a heartwarming show of generosity and gratitude.

Photographers around the country are keeping Aussie families sane by hosting safe-distance photo shoots in their driveways!

It makes for a great day out (somewhat) for the family, where they can get a bit silly and dress up for the occassion.

Families all over the world are taking part as well, using the hashtag #thedrivewayproject. Search it on Instagram to see many more fun shoots!

So, bad news first. With the advent of COVID-19, many charities have been forced to cancel their fundraising events, but all are continuing their fight.

Women’s Community Shelters have launched an emergency appeal given the multiple disasters that have disrupted their work this year, leaving many women without shelter and in need of support. This need has grown even further according to their CEO, Annabelle Daniel.

“Since Monday last week we’ve seen a 25 to 30 per cent increase in people who are coming to us and asking for help.”

“As soon as this issue of Covid-19 cropped up we are seeing people who are feeling the effects of being isolated with an abusive family member of partner quickly. And this started even before we moved to the bigger stages of lockdown.”

Read about all the fantastic work they do here, and consider donating to this worthy cause.

As we cannot enjoy going out to a fancy restaurant for dinner at the moment, many couples and families are getting creative with recreating that ambience at home.

One of our favourite was from the Duchess of Cambridge”s brother, James Middleton. He posted this hilarious photo of his self-isolation dinner party with his four perfect pooches on his Instagram, complete with neck napkins, flowers and candles!

It also serves as an important reminder that although you may be stuck at home, there’s still plenty you can do to spice up the day.

Clap for our carers inspired the whole country of Great Britain, lighting up several buildings – including London’s Tower Bridge and The Shard – blue in honour of the hard working National Health Servicepeople who are current doing their best to fight the covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

The hashtag trended online where many people shared their commendations and stories of local nursing heroes.

Many residents were touched to hear neighbours clapping from their balconies and front porches to salute these brave people putting their lives at risk to save others.

As many parents opt to keep their children at home, many are missing out of their physical education classes and sport.

To remedy this, personal trainer Joe Wicks has started posting daily exercise videos for kids and families on his YouTube channel, The Body Coach TV.

Although based in the UK, Joe’s videos are now being watched all over the world, includign by Aussie kids and their mums, keeping them active while isolating at home.

It’s tragic, but it’s true. Aussie supermarket workers are being abused left right and centre by panic buyers, who are frustrated at not being able to get their hands on items like toilet paper and frozen foods.

But thankfully, a #CoronaKindess campaign has launched, praising supermarket workers, especially shelf packers, for their hard work during this crisis.

Words of encouragement, both written and verbal, are being delivered to workers around the country. A nice reminder that a little kindness goes a long way for all.

With everyone self-isolating, it turns our Where’s Wally’s job is a lot harder…

No doubt our older Aussie citizens are having trouble maintaining peace of mind amid this crisis, especially with the amount of news coverage and that many retirement homes are disallowing visitors.

To remedy this, some are instead encouraging family members to post their childrens artwork on Facebook pages such as Drawings for Oldies.

They then print them out for their relatives to see, and hang them around the retirement village to encourage a higher morale.

Even in these times of self-isolation, people are still finding safe ways of sharing in the moments that matter most – like this father introducing his new baby to his own Dad. We’re not crying, you’re crying!

The coronavirus crisis has thrown many organisations into turmoil, including food rescue charity OzHarvest. Despite this, the team are soldiering on, launching their #HereforHope fundraising campaign, hoping to be able to continue feeding the needy with their services, which are needed now more than ever.

CEO Ronni Kahn says: “We can stop events. We can stop sporting matches and handshakes. But we cannot stop feeding people”.

To donate, visit ozharvest.org

Canberra residents have been placing their teddy bears in their windows and on balconies for local kids to spot.

The initiative is inspired by the book Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, and is gaining popularity.

Parents and kids who are staying home can enjoy a short walk through the neighbourhoods to keep active, and spot as many bears as they can, while still keeping physical distance from others.

Perth man Chris Nicholas set up the Facebook page Adopt a Healthcare Worker after a friend, who works as a nurse, said she couldn’t find any toilet paper to buy during the break between her shifts.

The group asks for people to assist their local healthcare workers by delivering groceries and other necessities, providing babysitting and childcare, or even just being a shoulder to cry on.

The group now has over 30,000 members and is still growing strong, with healthcare workers openly asking for what they need and regular folk offering what they have.

Redfern Convenience Store in Sydney’s inner city is famous for its wide range of products that people come from all over the city to purchase.

Since the rise in shoppers panic-buying toilet paper, owner Hazeem Sedda has been using his trademark sardonic humour to entertain his followers on Instagram.

But as well as cracking a few jokes, Hazeem is helping out those in his local community, offering out free rolls of toilet paper to any customers in need.

With their human minders in self-isolation, this herd of elephants in China wandered into a corn farm and got a little giddy while drinking the fermenting corn juice. They then snuck into the neighbouring tea tree farm and decided to snuggle up for a little nap together. Aww!

Venice has experienced an ‘alta acqua’, its highest tide in 50 years. The Venetian canals are now replenished, after drying up earlier this year. Not only that, but the lack of tourism in the famous city has also left the previously dirty water sparkingly crystal clear.

Melbourne woman Elana R S usually hosts workshops teaching mums all over the city the perks of reusable cloth nappies, including tips on how to properly wash them after each use.

Since the corona outbreak in Australia, Elana has taken her classes online and added a new spin to her teachings – another perk of using cloth nappies is you don’t have to worry about driving around to different supermarkets finding disposable ones to purchase!

The owners of the Stock Exchange Hotel in Manchester, UK, have announced the hotel is closing its doors to customers from March 22, but will be offering free accommodation to National Health Service workers who need to self-isolate or can’t return home for risk of infecting their families.

They also confirmed they will not be making any of their staff redundant during this time, and will be granting them paid leave if they themselves need to self-isolate.

Many residents in the US and Australia are reportedly putting their Christmas lights back up, in an attempt to bring a little bit of cheer to those self-isolating in their street. Such a lovely idea!

These name tags have been circulating on social media, inviting residents to fill them out and post to neighbours who might be in need of a helping hand, or just someone to talk to.