The recent spread of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has left a serious impact on communities around the world. The infectious disease has disrupted every aspect of our everyday routine and normal lifestyle. Schools and non-essential businesses are working from home, restaurants are solely offering takeout or delivery, and there is an increasing demand for health care workers to aid in the hospitals. Everywhere around the world people are doing their part to support their local businesses and first responders. Fairfield University's chapter of Spoon University decided to take action by creating an initiative that shows their love and support for their community that means so much to them.
At Fairfield, clubs receive an allocated budget for each semester. For Spoon Fairfield, the budget goes toward campus-wide events, restaurant features, and more. Since Fairfield is online for the remainder of the semester due to the coronavirus and the measures put in place by the state of Connecticut, the club decided to use its remainder of their allocated budget to give back to the community. The club is using the budget to purchase meals from local restaurants in the town of Fairfield and have them delivered to first responders around the Fairfield area.
The town of Fairfield has fed Spoon Fairfield countless times over the years. By creating this initiative, the club thought of this as a way to say thank you. Spoon Fairfield's club advisor Lisa Thornell helped bring this generous idea to light. As the club was given a limited budget, they decided to also create a fundraiser to give even more back to the first responders. The club was accepting donations from April 5, 2020 to April 12, 2020 via Venmo. Members of the club spread news of the initiative on social media to inform friends and families of Fairfield students in addition to the members of the Fairfield community.
The senior members of Spoon Fairfield offered their thoughts on the initiative and how they are leaving an impact on the community that means so much to them.
Zoë Smith reminisced about her Spoon journey. "I’ve absolutely loved my 3.75 years with Spoon Fairfield and although I’m sad that I can’t end my time on campus with all my co-chairs, I am so thankful that we can use our time and funds to help support local eateries and first responders together during this difficult time."
Amy McDonough expressed her gratitude for the organization. "For me, Spoon has been such a fun part of my time at Fairfield. Losing out on all of our senior events and the remainder of our time at Fairfield has been a hard pill to swallow, so doing this through Spoon was something we saw as a win for everyone! It’s something to look forward to in a lot of unknown and sadness- it’s all in the small things!"
Danielle Vazzano emphasized the importance of community and what it means to Spoon Fairfield. "Spoon Fairfield has allowed me to meet so many people and become more familiar with the town. The community is one of my favorite parts of the club. This initiative allows us to give back to the community that gives us so much. It is our way of saying thank you to the first responders as well as helping restaurants during this uncertain time."
Spoon Fairfield is just one of the many chapters of Spoon University that is doing their part to help their community. It is an inspiration for all to take such steps in helping local businesses and the first responders who are risking their lives to help others. While it may feel like there is not much you can do to help when you are stuck in your home, this initiative shows that no action is too small and that there are multiple ways to say thank you to our health heroes.