{"id":2541,"date":"2020-04-08T15:43:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T15:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/developmenttwo.marymount.edu\/blog\/alumnus-helps-arlington-community-connect-help-out-during-covid-19-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2020-04-08T15:43:23","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T15:43:23","slug":"alumnus-helps-arlington-community-connect-help-out-during-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marymount.edu\/blog\/alumnus-helps-arlington-community-connect-help-out-during-covid-19-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumnus helps Arlington community connect, help out during COVID-19 pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kellen MacBeth, who graduated from Marymount University in 2009 with a B.A. in Politics, is helping thousands of Arlington residents form tighter community bonds online during this time of social distancing.<\/p>\n<p>He helped organize the Facebook group, <a href=\"https:\/\/marymount.edu\/URL-Redirects\/040820-FB-group\">&#8220;Arlington Neighbors Helping Each Other Through COVID-19,&#8221;<\/a> and one of his posts fundraising for the Arlington Food Assistance Center has surpassed his $20,000 goal. Way to represent Marymount, Kellen!<\/p>\n<p><em>Read further for the full story from <a href=\"https:\/\/marymount.edu\/URL-Redirects\/040120-ARLnow\">ARLnow.com<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n<p>During this time of\u00a0social distancing, some Arlington residents are trying to form tighter community bonds online.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nA Facebook group called\u00a0Arlington Neighbors Helping Each Other Through COVID-19\u00a0opened at the outset of the\u00a0coronavirus\u00a0crisis, and now is approaching 7,000 members.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n&#8220;This group was created as a space to ask for help, share information and connect to our neighbors,\u0094 the group\u0092s\u00a0about page\u00a0says. &#8220;Many of us are still healthy and able to lend a hand to those who may be at higher risk.&#8221;<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nPosts range from the mundane to the inspiring. Group organizer Kellen MacBeth\u0092s\u00a0post\u00a0raising money for the Arlington Food Assistance Center, for instance, is nearing its $20,000 goal after just a day. Those\u00a0seeking help\u00a0getting\u00a0groceries\u00a0or medical items are finding it thanks to group members.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nExamples of other recent posts include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A\u00a0first-hand account\u00a0of a resident\u0092s experience after contracting COVID-19<\/li>\n<li>Another first-hand account of\u00a0going through\u00a0Arlington\u0092s\u00a0drive-through testing site<\/li>\n<li>A doctor\u0092s account of\u00a0what\u0092s happening\u00a0inside Virginia Hospital Center<\/li>\n<li>A post\u00a0seeking furnished rentals\u00a0for State Department employees returning home from overseas en masse<\/li>\n<li>An alert about\u00a0masks available\u00a0at a local hardware store in Courthouse<\/li>\n<li>A\u00a0call for volunteers\u00a0to help deliver meals to the volunteers manning the county\u0092s\u00a0coronavirus hotline\u00a0(703-228-7999)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>MacBeth, who chairs Arlington\u0092s\u00a0Tenant-Landlord Commission, started the\u00a0group\u00a0with Chanda Choun, a\u00a0candidate\u00a0for Arlington County Board, after seeing a need.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n&#8220;I started the page on the morning of March 16 after I had been invited to a Facebook page for D.C. with a similar purpose the night before,&#8221; MacBeth said. &#8220;When I saw it, I did a quick search to see if anything yet existed for Arlington, and finding that none did, decided to create it as a resource for Arlingtonians to help one another and share information.&#8221;<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nMacBeth said he initially invited 30 friends and had 2,000 members by the end of the first day.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n&#8220;I am shocked at how quickly it has grown,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think people were looking for a way to be connected and feel part of some sort of effort to get through the crisis.&#8221;<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n&#8220;The desire for a local community response to deal with COVID-19 was, dare I say, contagious,&#8221; said Choun, who joined as a co-admin of the group after himself starting a\u00a0crowdsourced Google Sheet\u00a0with key information for Arlington residents during the outbreak.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nSome needs are more serious \u0097 food for seniors stuck at home, for instance \u0097 but others are asking for, and receiving, help with a variety of things.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n&#8220;Others have used it to reach out for help because there are not a lot of options for some people to request non-emergency help\u0085needing a laptop charger, getting art supplies for your elementary school students stuck at home,&#8221; MacBeth said. &#8220;As the needs of the community change, we will likely work to adapt the page in the ways that are most needed.&#8221;<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nWhile altruistic, the group has seen some of the negativity that comes with any large enough online community. According to MacBeth, moderation has been getting more strict.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n&#8220;More recently, we have seen an uptick in people who are less concerned with how others are impacted by what they post,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have had to step up post approvals, dealing with flagged posts and sending out announcements that only kind and helpful posts should be made on this page.&#8221;<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nUltimately, said Choun \u0097 who is still running for County Board but has &#8220;shifted from a political campaign to a humanitarian campaign&#8221; \u0097 it\u0092s community and caring that will get Arlington to the other side of this crisis.<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\n&#8220;I think that in times of trouble and in times of crisis, love is what gets us through,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And love means caring for each other and doing whatever it takes to be sure everyone\u0092s taken care of.&#8221;<br \/>\n\u00a0<br \/>\nThe plan for the group, Choun added, &#8220;is to let this online community of Arlington neighbors continue to grow and evolve in a way that makes us a stronger, more loving people.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kellen MacBeth, who graduated from Marymount University in 2009 with a B.A. in Politics, is helping thousands of Arlington residents form tighter community bonds online during this time of social distancing. He helped organize the Facebook group, &#8220;Arlington Neighbors Helping Each Other Through COVID-19,&#8221; and one of his posts fundraising for the Arlington Food Assistance [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/marymount.edu\/blog\/alumnus-helps-arlington-community-connect-help-out-during-covid-19-pandemic\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Alumnus helps Arlington community connect, help out during COVID-19 pandemic - Marymount University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kellen MacBeth, who graduated from Marymount University in 2009 with a B.A. in Politics, is helping thousands of Arlington residents form tighter . 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