Memphis kindness blog, March 28: Salvation Army, restaurants team to feed needy
Melvin Williams picks up Garibaldi's donated pizza from Salvation Army truck outside of Memphis Union Mission in Uptown on March 27, 2020. (Ziggy Mack/Daily Memphian)
Editor’s note: As we navigate through this difficult time of dealing with the coronavirus, it is important to capture those instances where Memphians are coming together for each other. Those acts of kindness, generous moments and just feel-good instances happening all around us. Our reporters will be out looking for these. We also want to hear from you. If you have a nomination for our Memphis Kindness blog, email us at memphiskindness@dailymemphian.com. Thank you for reading. — Ronnie Ramos, executive editor
March 26, 2020
Donors help Salvation Army and local restaurants feed the needy
The Salvation Army of Memphis & the Mid-South is partnering with local restaurants to feed the community’s most vulnerable and there are ways you can help.
The Salvation Army’s FedEx Disaster Response Unit has served 250 people each day. Now, with the help of a group of anonymous donors, the agency can channel funds to several local restaurants, which will prepare and provide boxed meals for the daily distribution.
These donations relieve the Salvation Army of a significant financial burden, while providing revenues for the participating restaurants. So far, those restaurants include: Garibaldi’s, Huey’s, Paradise Cafe, Hog Wild, Lenny’s, Pimento’s Kitchen and the Spell Restaurant Group.
Local restaurant owners interested in taking part should contact Eric Monroe at eric.monroe@uss.salvationarmy.org.
Or financial gifts to the Salvation Army can be made online.
March 27, 2020
Residents launch Germantown Delivers to help neighbors
Germantown is a community that rallies together in times of need.
After the June 2019 flood, a group of citizens started a Facebook grassroots effort called Germantown HELPS.
Now, some Germantown residents have used social media to look for ways to serve their neighbors as the coronavirus effects more people in Shelby County.
Patrick and Toni Green have launched Germantown Delivers to help identify residents who need help and have been affected by COVID-19.
“We are currently living in a world that most of us have never seen and hope to never see again,” Patrick Green said, “All of our living situations are different and some of our neighbors need our help.”
The couple said they wanted to help the elderly, those with underlying conditions and those who are scared to go out during this time.
Residents in Germantown are asked to sign up for a time slot to be on-call and can run errands for those needing help as part of the effort.
“As we always do in Germantown, we come together during the toughest of times and the best of times too,” Green said. “That is what makes Germantown the great community that we are all proud to call our hometown.”
MERI donates medical supplies and issues challenge
The Medical Education & Research Institute has stepped up to donate medical supplies to Methodist University Hospital and hopes other agencies with extras on hand will do the same.
“We didn’t have everything they needed, but we were happy to give them what we could,” said Jason Owens, MERI executive director in a news release.
The institute donated face shields, N95 masks, paper scrubs and Tyvec coveralls that were leftover from a 2019 training program.
“MERI wants people to know every little bit matters,” Owens said. “Your extra face masks or gowns can help save the lives of our nurses and doctors. We challenge you to donate what you can.”
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