Story | Pandemic of Love

SEAN & BETH

“Pandemic of Love literally saved my life”

Sean, a New York City public school teacher, had already suffered the loss of family members to the COVID-19 virus. Struggling to make ends meet, he, reluctantly at first, signed up for help through Pandemic of Love. We matched him with a woman in South Florida named Beth who helped Sean by providing funds for groceries and other essentials. Her generosity also allowed Sean to keep a scheduled appointment with his physician. He had planned to miss the day’s exam and tests, as the cost of transportation to Long Island was just too much prior to Beth’s support. Sean made the appointment. He underwent the tests. A few days later, he learned he had throat cancer – a diagnosis that would have gone unknown and unchecked without Beth and her involvement with Pandemic of Love.

When she learned of Sean’s diagnosis, Beth researched the specific type of cancer and the foods/supplements found to help those battling this disease. She now sends Sean regular care packages full of things to help him in his fight.

Sean and his new guardian angel, Beth, touch base every day and share a Facetime call at least once every week. In an email to Pandemic of Love, Sean summed it all up saying, “Pandemic of Love literally saved my life.”

SUZANNE & JOANNE

“I never thought I’d help someone in need that voted for Trump”This is one of those stories not nearly told enough in America these days. Suzanne is a self-professed liberal from Florida. She was active in the Women’s March and March for Our Lives. She has vocally supported the impeachment of our president. When Suzanne signed up to “help” through Pandemic of Love, she was paired with Joanne, a single mother in Alabama who proudly voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

As their conversations progressed, it became clear to both Suzanne and Joanne that they were on opposite poles when it came to politics. Yet, somehow, they also knew they we’re in this crisis together. Suzanne told us she was shocked by the empathy she felt for Joanne given their vast differences. Today, Suzanne continues to help her new friend with essential items on a weekly basis. They touch base regularly each week, and sometimes the conversation turns to their political differences. The big difference is it now inevitably ends on what they have in common – a genuine friendship.

Joanne has expressed to Pandemic of Love that she believes the bond she and Suzanne share is precisely the type of connection that just might save us all. When we can realize those we see as “others” are really just “other people” is when the needle will shift.

DEBRA & KAREN

“Dreamer” daughter reaches out to Pandemic of Love to help pay for her father’s funeralKaren is a 16-year-old high school junior in Fairfield, CT. She has two brothers, one is 11 and the other is two. These kids lost their loving father to COVID-19 after he battled for over a month in an ICU unit they could never visit. The family was devastated. To make matters worse, in the midst of their grief, they were told they could not claim the body from the morgue without proper funds. Like many during this crisis – the family just didn’t have that kind of money.

Karen reached out to Pandemic of Love for help. Within an hour of receiving her form, we were able to match her with a beautiful soul in New York City named Debra, who offered to cover the entire funeral cost and quickly forwarded payment directly to the funeral home. Karen and her family were able to give her father a proper, dignified funeral service. Debra’s gift wasn’t just generous, it was priceless – the chance to say, “goodbye.”

Inspired by Debra’s generosity, Karen sat down and wrote her a long letter describing her father, what he meant to her, and what Debra’s gift meant to her entire family. Karen and Debra still keep in touch weekly, and Debra has committed to helping Karen with her education after she graduates high school.

At a time when their faith in humanity certainly could have been shaken, Karen and her family were, instead, inspired to believe in it through the love of a virtual stranger.

SIMONE & MAURICIO

“Lean on me when you’re not strong”

This is one of our earliest Pandemic of Love connections. Mauricio moved from Mexico to New York City just last year to pursue his dream of becoming a performer on Broadway. When the COVID-19 crisis hit, he suddenly found himself without work in a city with no family and few friends to lean on for support. He was alone, frightened and feeling rather hopeless.

Enter Pandemic of Love.

Mauricio filled out his “get help” form during the first week we launched Pandemic of Love and was quickly matched with Simone, a successful attorney and single mother in San Francisco. Simone began helping Mauricio by sending funds for essential items, and 10 weeks later she continues to help out her new friend. In return, Mauricio shows his gratitude in a beautiful way. He sends Simone personal renditions of her favorite pop hits and songs from Broadway musicals.

Mauricio’s rendition of the Bill Withers classic, “Lean on Me”, moved Simone so much that she shared the video with the rest of our Pandemic of Love family to help inspire our volunteers.

The two still talk every week and are one of the first examples where we saw the true power of human connection.

RICK, SEAN, SANDRA & MORE

The story of how one man saved dozens of families

Sean is the Head Chef at a popular restaurant in Boca Raton, Florida. When the shutdown happened, he watched his extended family – the chefs, waitstaff, host staff, kitchen staff – instantly go from great jobs to jobless, from great pay and tips to literally no pay and no tips.

They found themselves in the same COVID crunch so many restaurant employees face. Without warning, they were without income. But, as fate would have it, the restaurant’s Sous Chef, Sandra, happened to be a member of Shelly’s (Founder of Pandemic of Love) meditation community and told Sean about Pandemic of Love and how it might be able to help their employees.

Sean reached out on behalf of the 30 neediest people on his team. A few days later, we gave him the good news. Pandemic of Love had located Rick, a retiree who took it upon himself to create what he called “a giving circle”. Essentially, on his own Rick recruited a group of his friends with means, and together they adopted every single family on Sean’s list.

Today, the giving circle still makes sure all 30 employees and their families have food on the table and other essentials until they can get back to work fulltime.

SUSAN, JULIA, AND THE POWER OF LOVE

Helping a non-profit continue to support women with late-stage ovarian cancer

Susan lives in Massachusetts. Her best friend was Patty, who years ago lost her fight with ovarian cancer. In her honor, Susan created “Ovations for the Cure”, a non-profit that supports women battling late-stage ovarian cancer by providing meals, housekeeping, transportation and other important services while they face the toughest time of their lives.

“Ovations for the Cure” is funded by events. When the stay-at-home order occurred, Susan was forced to cancel all her fundraisers. At the time, the organization had just enough resources to continue services for roughly two weeks. After that, these brave women would be without the support they relied on so deeply.

At the behest of a friend, and in her own words, “throwing out a final Hail Mary”, Susan reached out to Pandemic of Love. As fate (or lost loved ones) would have it, the person who read Susan’s form was a volunteer named Julia, whose mother, Helen, had died of ovarian cancer less than a year earlier.

Julia felt this was a sign from her mother. She believed her mother somehow led her to Susan’s form; and that her mom was fostering this connection.

Believe what you want, but this feeling inspired Julia to find matches for ALL the women being served by Ovations for the Cure. She matched them directly with donors who gifted more than $20,000 in less than two weeks. Julia and Susan still keep in touch weekly, share stories about Patty and Helen, and both believe that their loved ones had a big role in making this happen.

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