Today I had to ask a neighbor to borrow a bathroom scale to weigh my children. Our pediatrician is only doing telemedicine well checks and drive-through vaccinations because Personal Protective Gear is still scarce. A scale was delivered to my porch in 15 minutes.

In our neighborhood email group of 113 houses, here is what has been asked for, received, and offered since the coronavirus pandemic arrived in mid-March:

REQUESTED

• Newspapers to start a worm farm
• Childcare ideas for a 6-month-old baby
• Rainbows and notes for healthcare workers (collected by high school students)
• A wheelbarrow
• Masks for the neighborhood homeless shelter 
• Birdseed
• Quarantine-friendly care packages for two very pregnant moms
• SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) for making Kombucha
• Old silk ties to make a COVID Quilt

OFFERED

• Errands, grocery shopping, and prescription pick-ups for older and immunocompromised neighbors
• 4 skate helmets, Little League-sized bats, and a bike for a middle-schooler
• Who to call if you see a bee swarm
• Yard signs thanking healthcare heroes and essential workers
• A box of books, including the Spiderwick Chronicles
• Notary services (from the front porch and a safe social distance)
• Weber kettle charcoal grill
• Hand-drawn coloring sheets to thank mail carriers and garbage truck drivers
• Carolina slow-cooker pulled pork & slaw, Gatorade, jelly bellies, coffee, and a slew of We’re all in this together‘s for the couple who told us they had COVID-19