Connecting with community in a time of social distancing

I have come across some lovely ways people are enhancing community connectedness without the use of on-line technology, and I would like to share some here.

Teddy bears in windows

My youngest daughter told me that in her street people had been placing teddy bears in windows for children to find from footpaths as they walked with their parents (for exercise), whilst keeping social distancing rules and not entering people's yards. So this becomes a teddy bear hunt.

After further research, I identified that this is a whole movement, that has its own Facebook Group in Australia, and it can be found here:

Going on a bear hunt Australia

Rainbow trails

In a similar idea in the UK, pictures of rainbows were placed in windows for people to find, but in Australia this idea has been expanded to making colourful artworks, including rainbows, to "spread some joy during these testing times". People are encouraged to draw rainbows on footpaths and driveways and to place pictures in windows and, in rural areas, the artworks have been placed on sheds, water tanks, fences and hay bales. There is a Facebook Group for this too:

Rainbow trails Australia

Chalk Street Art

Locally, a lady and her daughter have been using pavement chalk to brighten up our community with pictures and words on encouragement. They have drawn flowers, hopscotch, cartoon characters and rainbows, amongst other things. Messages have included: Anyone can be anything, Better days are coming, Music is good for the soul, Your kindness can change the world, and Smile. Their aim is to make people smile whilst out exercising, and they have discovered that their work is on-going when rain washes it away.

Community prayer hour with candles in windows

The Churches in our local town have combined to have a weekly prayer hour from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Thursday, and people are encouraged to place a lighted candle in their window to indicate their participation. This began on Maundy Thursday and will continue for as long as needed. Over the past two years of drought the Churches combined for monthly prayer meetings for rain (with groups meeting in different Churches each week), and this is an adaptation to fit current times whilst we are isolating ourselves in our homes.

The banner on our fence

Before finding out about the rainbow trails, and knowing that the teddy bear in the window idea was not practical for us (we live in a house in the middle of our farm, unseen from the road), I decided instead to make a message to hang on our fence near our mailbox. I cut the letters from paper, glued them onto coloured A4 sheets, which were laminated before stapling them to lengths of wood with a staple gun. This was then tied to the fence with pieces of wire. This replaced the first version I did, where I just stapled the letters to a length of ribbon and tied this to the fence, with twisters added between each letter. Wind and rain soon took care of that, and there is still an "a" and a "y" floating around the paddock somewhere (despite searching).

Remember: Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people. Roy T. Bennet