Amid coronavirus pandemic, neighbors delivering what government cannot

From money to medicine to a favorite meal, local volunteers step in for 'mutual aid’



Some of the requests are simple: Deliver a 6-year-old’s birthday cake from Whole Foods to a single mother who’s afraid to leave the house. Donate an old laptop to a student trying to connect to virtual classes.

Others are profound: College students from Nigeria looking for somewhere, anywhere, to live after their dorms closed. Out-of-work cooks, fitness instructors, and musicians who can no longer afford to feed their children.

But for so-called mutual aid groups now springing up across Massachusetts, no ask is too small or too large. Collectively, leaders of this grass-roots movement believe, local residents already have much of the expertise and many of the resources their neighbors will need to survive the coronavirus pandemic.

To get the job done, the helpers are relying on free time, anxious energy, their trust in each other — and online spreadsheets.

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READ THE REST:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/20/metro/amid-coronavirus-pandemic-neighbors-delivering-what-government-cannot/

AND IN NYC TOO:

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