The coronavirus pandemic has touched our society in ways we have yet to reckon with, and in others still that we may never fully realize. Other than the rampant illness, overcrowded hospitals, and daily death toll in or near the thousands, however, there are a number of obvious signs that stare us in the face every day.
If you watch the news at all, you’ve probably heard quite a bit about the fact that tens of millions of people have had to file for unemployment after losing their jobs (in some cases, temporarily), as the pandemic continues to rage on. Local governments have had to furlough workers as well as non-essential services close down.
All of these people who lost their jobs in some form or fashion must continue to live, of course. They need to pay their rent, or mortgage, and other assortments of bills. They have to keep up with their medication. And they have to eat.
Troy Polamalu and his family are trying to do a little something about the latter bit, at least. Reportedly, he has bought furloughed government workers of Westmoreland County gift cards to local restaurants to assure that they have a meal, and at the same time, it obviously helps local businesses.
While Pittsburgh is not in Westemoreland County, Latrobe is, and you should know what that means to the Pittsburgh Steelers. For longer than any other teams short of the Green Bay Packers, the Steelers have packed up their gear every Summer and headed over to Saint Vincent College to conduct their training camp.
Not just the organization but also the players who have spent many Summers there have developed a bond, not just with the college, but with the local community. Pittsburgh’s training camp is a pretty important part of their economy as well, and that is under threat, as we don’t know what will come back late July.
Over 400 workers remained furloughed in the county. Each of them will be receiving a gift card to use at a local restaurant, which keeps that money circulating in the community. Polamalu is not the first or only player to have done this from the Steelers, or from other teams, but every story of this kind is a good one to read at this time.
