There is something to be said about people coming together following a collectively traumatic event or a natural disaster. Multiply the natural disaster by three—Debby, Helene, and Milton—and we are seeing triple the amount of goodwill from family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, businesses, and complete strangers.  

The stories of people helping people, here in Florida and in ravaged North Carolina, are remarkable. There is nothing random about these acts of kindness—they are 100% intentional, as we stand shoulder to shoulder with those in shock or leaning on those shoulders next to us if we are in shock ourselves. 

Even if we weren’t directly impacted by “the disaster”, our capacity for compassion and empathy lets us know…it could have been us. Brene Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston School of Social Work where she holds the Huffington Foundation Endowed Chair, has studied courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy for more than 20 years. She explains that vulnerability is a core ingredient of social bonding. No matter who we are, we have vulnerability in common and that can connect us. Especially in a time of crisis. 

Here at the Education Foundation, we talk often about resilience. Daily, we witness vulnerability followed by resilience in our students, teachers, and coworkers. We see that with support, people who may be struggling can thrive again. In this case, we all know that we will recover from the storms, but our resiliency can certainly be bolstered by comfort and care.  

We saw people reaching out in many ways: providing food and water, volunteering their time to help remove yard debris, offering trucks and trailers to move furniture destroyed by storm surge, or generators they’re no longer using. Employers gave their staff time off from work with pay to prepare and then recover. And there were smaller gestures that were equally meaningful: making space in their working fridge or freezer for those without power, offering to recharge phones and batteries, inviting impacted people over to take a hot shower and have a cup of coffee, emailing/texting/calling to check in just to see how others are doing. These intentional acts of kindness help quell the shock and nudge those who were affected onto the path of resiliency.  

So, let’s ask you…how are you doing? Tell us. Email us. Or share the acts of kindness that you’ve seen these past few months that were extended to you or others. We want to hear your stories so reach out to us at info@edfoundationsrq.org. This turbulent time is what we have in common. It has brought out the best in most people, showing us that, indeed, we are all vulnerable, and the cure is connection.