#PalmCares Week 3: Donating Palms to Those in Need
If you haven’t heard yet, we kicked off a social donation program the first week of April to give back to not only our frontline responders who need all the help that they can get right now, but also to other deserving people in need. The stories of love, compassion and bravery from our communities across the country continue to inspire us. We are honored that so many people have been so open and honest about what’s happening in their lives and in the lives of their loved ones that they are nominating.
We are happy to share that we’ve donated 16 Palms to date through our program, and we wanted to share some of the stories from this week’s donations here with you.
In the third week of our program we donated Palms to:
- A Registered Nurse in Chicago working the COVID-19 hotline
- An EMT in Colorado, nominated by his brother
- A Comedian in New York, nominated by his friend
- A son desperate to stay in touch with his hospitalized mother
Here are some of their stories:
Family is one of the strongest forces we have as humans, which is why when we read Andrew’s submission nominating his brother Blake, we immediately wanted to learn more. Andrew’s love and support for his brother shine through with every sentence of his story, and the more we heard about Blake, the more we wanted to see what we could do to support him. Check out a portion of Andrew’s submission nominating his brother:
“I think your product is awesome and the fact that you are donating some is even more incredible. I nominate my brother, Blake Wollenberg, who is an EMT in the Emergency Department of a hospital in Colorado. He works tirelessly to help others during this time period and knowingly is on the front lines around confirmed cases of COVID-19. After each 12 hour shift, he drives home, has to strip down in the garage, put his clothes immediately in the washing machine and go shower before hugging his wife or two daughters. I am nominating him because he has stopped using his phone at work to avoid risking contaminating his phone and having one of his family members use it. That means that during his long shifts his communication with his family has dropped off which has added to the strain for their family during an already challenging time.
Blake has even gone so far as to start a nonprofit focused on helping other first responders and healthcare professionals and their families called Wolf Pack Support Services. To say the least, his entire life is dedicated and focused on helping others, so to honor him, especially with something that allows him to safely stay in touch with his loved ones, would truly make him feel seen and appreciated, and he deserves that.”
When we say “frontlines”, we generally tend to think of the hospitals and other care facilities that are treating those in need, but our frontlines are actually so much more than just that. For example, testing stations, EMTs and hotline workers are also filled with frontline healthcare personnel helping people get the best care possible. Lindsey is one of these workers. Here’s part of her story:
“I’m currently a registered nurse that has been assigned to work and run a COVID-19 hotline number where patients can call (all over the states) and talk to a nurse about anything COVID-19 related, and receive guidance to the appropriate triage measures needed to be taken. Since nurses and healthcare professionals are being sequestered to the very front lines at this time, I am often working overtime and, at times, even ten days in a row, to make sure that the patients can get the care that they need, and most importantly that their concerns are heard. With the influx of calls daily, I currently have taken hundreds of calls all from my own cell phone which is connected to work at home. Due to current usage of my own personal phone being used for the hotline itself, it would be amazing to have a different platform to stay connected with my family and friends, who I feel disconnected from lately due to the fact I’m always talking to patients on my personal phone.
Thanks for all that you’ve been doing to support and help healthcare professionals stay connected during this difficult time.”
A nomination can be a powerful thing, as those who usually deserve help the most are also usually the least likely to ask for it. When we read Nicole’s submission nominating her friend Donny, we knew we wanted to help. We’ll let Nicole explain more:
“Donny is an extremely hard-working, passionate, talented, and loving individual. When I came across how Palm is helping those in need during the Coronavirus, I could not help but think of Donny and how much this would mean to him and better his quality of life. He would never nominate himself for something like this and that is why I am today. He is going through a tough time losing both of his jobs and sources of income and being alone in a big city far away from friends and family in Michigan. He does not own a fully functioning phone and being gifted a Palm phone would help him tremendously during these dark times.
He took a big risk moving to New York to follow his passion and make the world laugh. Laughing and comedy is the best medicine during tough times. Having a working, high quality, and beautiful phone like Palm would give Donny the means to share his gift of comedy to the world. Donny will bring smiles and laughter to our community, and, in turn, bring joy to himself. Palm will bring comfort, loved ones, and home to Donny with just a quick tap of a touch screen. Donny is so deserving of a Palm phone and would cherish it so much.”
Thank you to everyone who has submitted so far. We are continuing to read through them and are continuing to donate Palms to those in need. We are still accepting submissions for donations! If you or a loved one has a need for a donated Palm and 30 days of free service, submit your story today by emailing us at hello@palm.com.