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In The Science of Helping Out Tara Parker-Pope argues, During a crisis, the people who cope best are those who help others. Does that concept resonate with you? Have you ever received any personal benefits by helping others?
Her article begins:
At a time when we are all experiencing an extraordinary level of stress, science offers a simple and effective way to bolster our own emotional health.
To help yourself, start by helping others.
Much of the scientific research on resilience which is our ability to bounce back from adversity has shown that having a sense of purpose, and giving support to others, has a significant impact on our well-being.
There is a lot of evidence that one of the best anti-anxiety medications available is generosity, said Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at Wharton and author of Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. The great thing about showing up for other people is that it doesnt have to cost a whole lot or anything at all, and it ends up being beneficial to the giver.
The article continues:
The challenge many of us are facing today is how to give support from a distance. Rules that require us to be physically apart during the pandemic mean that our traditional ways of volunteering in person are no longer possible. The good news is that the type of support that can be helpful to both giver and receiver can be given in a variety of small and big ways. It can include giving money or time to a cause. Or it can be as simple as a phone call, giving advice or just lending a listening ear.
In fact, the act of giving advice has been shown to be more beneficial than receiving it. In a series of studies of 2,274 people, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago found that after middle-school students mentored younger students about studying, they ended up spending more time on their own homework. Overweight people who counseled others on weight loss were more motivated to lose weight themselves.
During the current coronavirus crisis, have you heard about any acts of generosity?
Below are excerpts from three Times articles reporting on how people have tried to help out in their communities.
In This Brooklyn Landlord Just Canceled Rent for Hundreds of Tenants, Matthew Haag writes about Mario Salerno, an owner of 18 apartment buildings, who said he did not want renters to stress about their payment during the coronavirus pandemic":
He is likely forgoing hundreds of thousands of dollars in income by canceling April rent.
His only interest, he said, was in alleviating stress for his renters, even those who were still employed and now working from home.
My concern is everyones health, said Mr. Salerno, 59, whose rent gesture was first reported by the local news site Greenpointers.com. I told them just to look out for your neighbor and make sure that everyone has food on their table.
In He Beat Coronavirus. Now His Blood May Help Save Lives. Tracey Tully writes about Benjamin C. Planer, a New Jersey doctor who, upon recovering from the coronavirus, was found to have high levels of virus antibodies in his blood, which researchers at Hackensack University Medical Center plan to use to treat other patients:
At Hackensack, Dr. Planer, 58, has become known as the superdonor.
He and his family live in Teaneck, N.J., the hardest-hit town in the states hardest-hit county amid the outbreak. He, his wife and their 17-year-old son contracted the virus, and they all recovered after several days of experiencing relatively minor symptoms.
When his hospital asked for volunteers for a study of an emerging Covid-19 therapy, Dr. Planer was among the first to sign up. His blood carries an especially valuable quantity of antibodies, Dr. Michele Donato, the chief of stem cell transplantation and cellular therapy at John Theurer Cancer Center, part of Hackensack University Medical Center, said.
My body obviously had it, Dr. Planer said in an interview. My body responded. My immunity worked. And I hear that I made a lot of antibodies. I was very happy to hear that and very happy to share.
In In Praise of Quarantine Clapping, Amanda Hess chronicles her experiences with the communal applause that breaks out in her neighborhood every night for workers who put themselves at risk during the crisis:
Every night at 7, my Brooklyn neighborhood comes to life with the calculated whimsy of a cuckoo clock. It starts with a single neighbor clapping. Soon dozens more join in, throwing open their front doors or hanging from their windows to put their hands together and say wooooo. Perhaps 20 seconds into the proceedings, a man emerges from the garden apartment across from me, banging a pot with a spoon, and a woman appears on the stoop of the house next door, her spaniel barking helpfully at her side. Often there is a special guest: On a recent evening, a guy motored by on a delivery bike, a whistle blaring from between his lips. Its all over within five minutes.
The Clapping first spread through New York City on a Friday night in late March. Following similar gestures in Italy, India and Spain, the New York iteration was seeded by a strategic marketing firm and circulated over social media to thank workers on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak. It was originally presented as a one-off event, and after that, residents were asked to repeat it once a week. But now we do it every single night.
The Clapping has surely been heard by doctors and nurses and E.M.T.s, by UPS workers and Instacart delivery people and the many other New Yorkers who are putting themselves at risk to protect their city. I live just a couple of blocks from the choked I.C.U. of the Brooklyn Hospital Center, and on Tuesday, firefighters lined up right outside the center to cheer the staff on.
But the more the ritual is repeated, the more it feels as if its for the rest of us, too. We used to go out to concerts or movies or plays and clap for the performances. Now the clapping is the performance. It is our regularly scheduled programming, live and in person when basically nothing else is.
Students, read one or more of the articles in their entirety, then tell us:
What acts of generosity have you heard about in your community or anywhere else in which someone has helped others during the coronavirus crisis? Who was on the receiving end of those acts? How do you think the person or people in the helping role also may have been helped by the experience?
What experiences have you had in your life with volunteering, donating or otherwise assisting others? Do you think the act of giving was beneficial to you in any way? If so, how?
Do you think there is truth in the adage its better to give than to receive? Explain.
What might someone who claps every night for workers at a nearby hospital have in common with a landlord who tells his tenants he wont collect their rent or a blood donor who donates plasma to try to help coronavirus victims?
The first article above mentions that while volunteering is difficult to do right now because of social distancing measures, you can still feel good by doing something as simple as a phone call, giving advice or just lending a listening ear. Have you done anything, no matter how small, to help others during the pandemic that also made you feel good? Explain.
Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
Read more here:
What Acts of Kindness Have You Heard About or Participated In During Coronavirus? - The New York Times
