Hey St. Louis, Let’s come Together: While We Are Apart

In the weeks and months ahead, St. Louis will likely face daunting challenges. As we tackle them head on, our history can offer lessons of reassurance, resilience and guidance.

During the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak, St. Louis had a lower death rate than other parts of the United States because a forward-looking doctor and health commissioner acted fast by closing public gathering places, schools, pubs and restaurants. In 1993, during the historic floods, the area banded together sand-bagging and raising money for those directly affected.

Today in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the St. Louis Community Foundation convened a coalition of regional funders, chamber associations, local corporations and community organizations to form the Covid-19 Regional Response Fund, which will direct aid to nonprofits helping St. Louisans who are affected by the virus.

This approach to disaster relief is modeled after similar efforts undertaken by Seattle and Austin.  Those cities experiences have shown that this approach is the quickest and most efficient way to speed aid to those who need. Moreover, it is a model that advantage that can be replicated quickly in the future.

An important first step to speeding aid to those who need it, is to contribute. You may do so by donating directly to the COVID-19 Regional Response Fund here.

Other steps you can take to lend a hand include:

• Support open local bars and restaurants by ordering take out or delivery;
• Check in and offer to deliver groceries for your elderly neighbors, relatives and friends.
• Donate to a local food bank or other organization that supports food insecurity for families.

Finally, a key element of response is to take the necessary precautions to contain the spread of the virus by practicing social distancing, as recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The quicker and more effectively we contain the virus – the faster we will get to the other side.