Artist Syed Rehman’s online initiative to help poor and elderly inspiring people across America.
Crises bring out the best and the worst of people. So has the Coronavirus epidemic that has put whole of America in a virtual lock down sending people in a mad rush to hoard essentials.
As people fight over that last loaf of bread or that last roll of toilet paper at American supermarkets, the elderly and the poor are often left high and dry. To help them out, Skokie, Chicago based Indian American artist Syed Rehman has devised a plan.
Rehman, who runs art galleries called Modern Art Wall, has in an Instagram offered to come to the aid of anyone who may need help – for buying groceries, essentials and medicines.
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His post created a ripple effect with his followers from across the country posting about their availability to help out during this phase of social distancing.
“As an individual and as a company we have always been very mindful about giving back,” said Rehman about his initiative . “Just last week we raised about $11,000 in a single day for victims of Delhi riots in India.”
His COVID-19 initiative “was inspired by a group of guys on Facebook who were offering to pick and deliver groceries for anyone who may need them.”
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“I decided to come up with an offer where we are happy to go ahead and stock what people may need in their homes,” Rehman said. “And we are also happy to bring these essentials for free for anyone who cannot pay.
“There are a lot of elderly and immunocompromised people in each of our neighborhoods, my family and my team is at their call.”
Rehman who originally hails from Hyderabad, India plans to take this initiative a step ahead. “We realize that not everyone will call for help,” he said. “So beginning next week, we are going to hang flyers on people’s doors offering our help.”
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“I also know many people are making those futile grocery store runs and cannot find things like sanitizers,” Rehman said. So he had “ordered a batch and as soon as it reaches me I will be handing out for free to those who can’t afford it and for those who can will just charge the amount incurred.”
“We will also deliver them to these people as part of our community service,” Rehman said hoping that small, individual initiatives like these reach the small cities in America.
“In a city like Chicago, we still know that there are a lot of resources,” he said. “But we need such offers in smaller cities where a lot of elderly population lives on their own.”
“A good thing was that after my post, many individuals stepped up and began offering the same service in their neighborhoods from Brooklyn in New York to interiors of South Dakota.”
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1 Comment
ya ai am an alderley and a disable, ya u halp me now. chicago? u go, i kno. ho ho ho. PIG!