A Brief, But Important, Blog Hiatus. Here’s Where I’ve Been.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on the blog. A long while. At the start of the new year, I had set a goal for myself to write more blogs. But, it seems the universe had other plans.
In addition to regular client work, which has been plentiful and fun, in January I joined forces with some amazing volunteers to operationalize a Covid-19 vaccination site for Kohll’s Pharmacy, a family-owned pharmacy here in Omaha. We started the effort with just two volunteers (myself and one other person) and quickly grew our team to include about a dozen lead volunteers to manage the day-to-day operations including securing volunteers, planning shift duties, working with nurses and other clinical staff, answering questions from clients, and basically everything required to keep the site up and running. Within a week our volunteers were running an additional vaccination site. A small group of volunteers managed a dedicated phone line, and I personally responded to more than 2,000 emails from individuals asking questions about vaccine availability and eligibility.
Volunteering as part of the effort was one of the most amazing, and gratifying, experiences of my life. Our team helped the most vulnerable members of our community receive their vaccines at a time when access was scarce. Seeing the relief on a client’s face as they received their vaccines was truly amazing. Every person who came through our center was grateful and appreciative. As a volunteer, every day was better than the next. More and more members of our community became vaccinated, and we were truly making a difference.
Our volunteers were among the best I’ve ever worked with. Everyone from CEOs of Fortune 500 companies to retirees to hairstylists to working parents worked on our crew. In all, nearly 300 volunteers work more than 800 eight-hour shifts. As of May 5, Kohll’s had distributed 50,000 covid vaccines and expects to have distributed 75,000 doses by the 4th of July.
It has been a true honor to be part of this effort. And now, it’s time to get back to work!