Look for the Helpers

You might have seen it online over the years, the Mister Rogers quote, “Always look for the helpers.” It’s not surprising that quote has seen a resurgence lately, and it’s also inspiring to see so many helpers in the news every day, from grocery stores staying stocked up on items, to restaurants offering free meals for kids, to companies open-sourcing effective N95 masks for everyone to make, to teachers still working hard to teach classes that have been spread across the internet.

The kindness of people is something that often gets overlooked. It’s always there, of course, but it’s usually overshadowed by the bad news of the day. We’re not saying to ignore the bad news—but we’d like to help strike a balance.

Northern Oasis Spirits is a company that creates alcoholic beverages, which are, at their core, a social commodity. Our products fit in with large get-togethers, life events, and other social gatherings. We love talking about these events, because we were inspired by fond memories of families and friends gathered around a campfire, passing drinks, telling jokes and stories, and—you guessed it—being kind and supportive of one another. The drinks were one part of these memories, but what really matters is the people.

We looked up Mr. Rogers’s quote, and found that it was something he was fond of saying. While it’s good advice anyway, he wrote a variation in his newspaper column that had a slightly different angle:

For me, as for all children, the world could have come to seem a scary place to live. But I felt secure with my parents, and they let me know that we were safely together whenever I showed concern about accounts of alarming events in the world.

There was something else my mother did that I’ve always remembered: “Always look for the helpers,” she’d tell me. “There’s always someone who is trying to help.” I did, and I came to see that the world is full of doctors and nurses, police and firemen, volunteers, neighbors and friends who are ready to jump in to help when things go wrong.

The helpers he mentions in this quote have been working tirelessly to keep us all going since this started. Doctors and nurses of course, but there are lots of neighbors and friends checking in on each other. We would also add all the people who work in service industries—tech support, customer service, stores, restaurants, gas stations, child care. They’re all helping us keep going as well.

We started the Tip Jar Project to try to help tipped workers recover some of their lost income while businesses are closed, and Compass Properties has Virtual Tip Jars set up for immediate donations. It’s a way to help those workers get through this when we aren’t sure exactly how to contact them.

If you have kids, you’re already a helper. Let them be kids. Give them a bit of normalcy if you can, around the online school, cancelled playdates, and stress. Help them to keep creating warm memories. Let them know that the world is still amazing.

This will all get better, and it gets better when we all pitch in as helpful neighbors and a supportive community. Check in on one another. Be kind. Stay in touch. Keep making good memories.

Be a helper.