By Joshua Huff, sports editor
TRUSSVILLE — The national spotlight turned its attention to Trussville for a brief moment this week as Trussville City Schools was the subject of an ABC “Nightline” segment titled “Kids, teachers and volunteers come together in Alabama community.”
The segment highlighted the charity deeds of the students, families and staff members of the community.
“We are in a global pandemic,” Trussville City Schools Superintendent Pattie Neill said. “But here in Trussville, we have an epidemic of kindness, care and concern for our community and the world.”
Trussville City Schools has been heavily involved in philanthropic efforts throughout the Birmingham metro area. From packaging grab-and-go meals to families in need, to gathering supplies for first responders and sending off thank you notes to healthcare workers, the school system have shown that despite the quarantine and social distancing kindness breaches all obstacles.
You can watch the ABC “Nightline” video here.
This follows members of the Trussville City Schools community recently taking time out their days to personally give thanks to health care workers battling the coronavirus throughout the Birmingham metro area.
Students, faculty and staff of TCS wrote letters to health care workers diligently working night and day to save those who have been stricken by COVID-19 at UAB, St. Vincent’s Hospitals, the VA Hospital, Grandview Hospital and area nursing homes.
“Thank you for being selfless and brave during this hard time,” Jackson Frandsen wrote. “I hope all goes well, and for you and your family to be safe and healthy. Again, thank you for putting other’s lives first.”
The toll on health care workers throughout the nation and the world has been immense. In Alabama alone, hundreds of health care workers have tested positive for the coronavirus along with hundreds more long-term care facility employees.
Health care workers are on the front lines of this pandemic. They suffer from fear, exhaustion and from lack of supplies. The threat of contracting COVID-19 is always there. The virus can easily spread through droplets during close interactions such as from coughing or even talking. The virus also clings to surfaces for days and can linger in rooms for long periods of time.
“I’ll spend the majority of my shift trying not to have a panic attack and then come home and fear going back to work,” Marie, a nurse practitioner in Los Angeles, told NPR. “If this goes on for weeks and weeks and things only get worse I just don’t know how I’m going to be able to handle it.”
The website Medspace has attempted to list the names of health care workers who have succumbed to the coronavirus. The organization has listed dozens of healthcare worker deaths with the very real possibility that the identities of hundreds remain unknown.
“Thank you for everything you do and all that you have sacrificed to help people and we are praying for strength, wisdom and endurance for all of you during this difficult time. Thank you,” Taylor Calvin of Hewitt-Trussville Middle School wrote.
UAB Hospital released a video responding to all the thank you cards from people throughout the community. You can watch that here.