Image: VeryWell | Catherine Song ||
Even though we can't be with each other, we can still be there for each other.
We've compiled a collection of community-based organizations and initiatives to support or share with anyone who might need them; fun ways to stay busy and entertained while stuck at home, from virtually traveling the globe to throwing a dance party in your kitchen; and resources to take care of yourself in an extraordinarily difficult time.
This page will be updated, so save it in your bookmarks and check back! If you know a fantastic resource that we missed, leave it in the comments.
Community Resources
With widespread layoffs, school closures, and the entire arts & entertainment industry hitting "pause," many members of our extended community are finding themselves in need of some extra help. Here are some local organizations that are working to provide safety nets of all kinds – if you're able, we encourage you to give what you can to support them.
- The West Chester Community Meal Fund supports organizations who are providing free meals to seniors and other currently homebound or high-risk individuals. Some of these include:
- Several initiatives have been created to make and/or collect face masks:
- Sew Face Masks Philadelphia
- Philly Mask Brigade
- Leslie Roy of Days for Girls is organizing mask-making and distribution to local organizations. Contact her at waynepa@daysforgirls.org if you have materials to contribute, or would like to get involved.
- Creative Capital is providing Artist Relief to artists facing dire financial emergencies. They also compiled a list of emergency resources for artists.
- The Philadelphia Performance Artists' Emergency Fund is a crowdfunded initiative to help local artists.
- Theatre Philadelphia Emergency Relief
- Arts Aid PHL
- Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health is accepting donations of children's items including games, sports balls, sneakers, pool toys, clothes, and bathing suits at their West Chester and Malvern locations.
- The Garage has an ongoing supply drive for their communities in Kennett Square and West Grove.
- The Domestic Violence Center of Chester County is a 24/7 resource, via phone or online chat. They have also compiled a list of resources for assistance with food, utilities, loans, and more.
- Philly Virtual Tip Jar, for food service employees who are out of work.
- The National Domestic Workers Alliance started a Coronavirus Care Fund.
- Philabundance is ensuring that everyone in Philadelphia has safe access to food during this crisis.
- Pennsylvania SPCA
- Project HOME has continued working around the clock to help some of the city's most vulnerable residents.

The Days | KIM BOHIE | National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
Things to Do
Virtual Museums
Thanks to Google Arts & Culture, you can access high resolution images of artwork from galleries across the globe and even take a virtual tour of museum spaces through Google Street View. Many museums also host their own virtual galleries and other resources, some of which are linked below.
- British Museum, London | Online Collection
- Guggenheim Museum, New York | Virtual Google Street View
- National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul
- Pergamon Museum, Berlin
- Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam | Online Collection
- National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City
- The Vatican Museum | Sistine Chapel
- Thyseen-Bornesmisza Museum
- NASA's Virtual Tours: Langley Research Center in Virginia and the Glen Research Center in Ohio
- High Museum of Art, Atlanta: Civil Rights Photography
- Detroit Institute of the Arts
Virtual Theatre
- Play at Home is a collaboration between theaters across the country to commission and share short plays online.
- Theatre Without Theater regularly posts monologues, readings, and even full plays on Instagram.
- Our friends across the pond at the National Theatre are streaming a different full-length play each week, along with the wealth of behind-the-scenes content already available on their Youtube channel.
- BroadwayHD is currently offering a 7-day free trial, if you want to see how many musicals you and your isolation-mates can binge in a week.
- MetOpera streams a full opera every night on their website.
- The Globe is sharing a few full-length plays on their Youtube, each available for 2 weeks.
- Sir Patrick Stewart himself gifts the world with a Shakespearean sonnet reading every single day.
Music
- With over 800 editions on Youtube, your favorite artist has probably been on NPR's iconic Tiny Desk series at some point. A few of our favorites to get you started:
- United We Stream is supporting Berlin's world-famous performing arts scene with daily DJ sets (and some live performances) from the city's clubs.
- Sirius XM is offering free online listening through May 15.
- Orchestras around the world have been streaming their concerts for free.
- Live From the Playroom streams their kid-friendly Rock and Roll Playhouse on the Rockefeller Center's Facebook every day M-F at 3pm ET, and Sundays at 11AM.
Books, Zoos, and more
- The National Emergency Library provides waitlist-free access to over a million digitized books that are normally only available from libraries. It was created by the Internet Archive, who also offer a wide range of other online resources, including Project Gutenberg (a collection of over 60,000 public domain e-books), the Magazine Rack, a collection of comic books and graphic novels, and even an Internet Arcade.
- Zoo Wildlife Cams & Park Tours – from puffins in Maine to koalas in Australia.
- In Vox Tox, TV presenter and trivia buff Sandi Toksvig brings you into her home library every day for a relaxing and fascinating few minutes of untold histories and sage advice.
- The Kennedy Center collaborated with children's author Mo Willems for 15 episodes of Lunch Doodles.
- Popular British show Taskmaster has opened up their wacky challenges to the public, closing each round with delightful compilations of families around the world turning their kitchens into sporting arenas, being champions of camouflage, and making dancing elephants.
- Sony Pictures Kids Zone is a parent-curated collection of activities and entertainment for kids.
- If you ever thought, "The Office is great, but what if it were set in a kitchen?" then Bon Appetit's Youtube channel is for you. Tune in for recipes, characters, and how to make the most of all of that boxed pasta on your shelf.
- The Quarantine Coloring Book releases new downloadable, colorable art every day, from a wide variety of artists.
- SuperCook finds recipes based on whatever random collection of ingredients you can scrounge up from your quarantine cupboard.

Mental Health and Wellness
No matter how many distractions we come up with to keep our minds busy, these are incredibly challenging times to live in. It's okay and normal if you're having trouble coping. Be kind to yourself – and don't hesitate to check out these resources if you're struggling, or have ended up in an uncomfortable living situation that is making your stress worse.
- Virus Anxiety – a collection of mental health resources designed for the current moment, to help cope with everything from health anxiety to financial struggles to xenophobia.
- SAMHSA's Disaster Distress Helpline
- Domestic Violence Center of Chester County – hotline, online/text chat, and other resources
- National Domestic Violence Hotline
- Suicide Prevention Lifeline – in addition to their hotline, they have compiled a list of resources specifically for coping with COVID-19.
- The Trevor Project – hotline and online/text support for LGBTQ+ youth
- Trans Lifeline – hotline for transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex, and/or nonbinary people of all ages
- Planned Parenthood – currently offering a wide array of services via phone and virtual appointments.
- Therapist Database – many therapists are offering phone or virtual appointments.
- Down Dog – this highly-rated yoga app is free to everyone through April, and free to students, teachers, and healthcare professionals through June.
- Headspace – the free version of this meditation app includes COVID-19 resources, and the premium version is currently available to healthcare professionals for free.