May 2020: Project H.E.A.L.

The images documenting the coronavirus pandemic are ones we won’t soon forget. We won’t forget what an empty Times Square looks like. We won’t forget what hundreds of people in Italy serenading each other from their balconies during lockdown looks like. We won’t forget what a world map showing all 195 countries ticked with cases of COVID-19 looks like.

Most of all, we won’t forget what the grim self portraits of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers during a global pandemic look like. We won’t forget that even though they look exhausted, and even though they are sacrificing time with their families, and even though their faces are bruised from the protective masks they’ve worn for 12+ hours that reduce risk but don’t guarantee immunity... even through all of that, these heroes still show up and work steadily on the frontlines to save humanity from a kind of catastrophe most of us never expected. Still, they show up.

COVID-19 testing kit shortages and overflowing hospitals. Still, they show up. 
Thousands of deaths and new cases every day and no end in sight. Still, they show up.
Sleeping away from their partner or children for fear of spreading the virus. Still, they show up. Risking their own health and wellbeing to save others. Still, they show up. Day after day, 12-hour shift after 12-hour shift, they show up.

Now it’s our turn to show up. We are in a time of great uncertainty and the path forward is uneasy... it’s OK to feel scared. But love, kindness, and empathy between humans lights a way through the darkness. There is always a way.

Not all heroes wear capes, but a hell of a lot of them wear scrubs. These un-caped heroes are the Heartbeat of Humanity and it’s our turn to show up and help them save the world.

NON-PROFIT PARTNER:

Project C.U.R.E. projectcure.org