Driving Hope during COVID-19

Driving Hope during COVID-19

#DriveHope was created from a desperate cry for help in a post on Facebook. When Karen Denny, Divisional Executive for Liberty’s Digital Marketing team, first read it, her heart sank. She chats to Good Things Guy Brent Lindeque about what happened next and how #DriveHope was born.

#DriveHope
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An elderly woman had anonymously poured her heart out, searching for help after she was sexually assaulted by a relative. The woman’s family and friends couldn’t offer her the support she needed, she had lost her job because of the COVID-19 lockdown, and her Unemployment Insurance Fund payments were still outstanding.

Reading the post was an emotional roller-coaster – the sadness surrounding the woman’s situation, the outrage over her suffering and inability to find help, and finally knowing that the Liberty #DriveHope Squad could somehow assist.

“I remember when I first called her, she couldn’t stop crying. I told her – I promised her – that we were going to help,” says Karen.

The physical distance created by the national lockdown was a challenge, but she and Liberty’s #DriveHopeSquad, a team of internal colleagues – knew that at the very least, they could help the woman get medical attention, both physically and psychologically, and provide her with food to sustain her until she could get back on her feet.

This was just one of the hundreds of random acts of kindness that the squad has undertaken since the campaign began.

Good Things Guy Brent Lindeque chats to Karen, in the first podcast of 2021, to find out more about the #DriveHope initiative began. Listen below.

Meanwhile, 2020 was filled with so much trauma. We lost loved ones, businesses, incomes, health, faith in our leaders and every ounce of what we used to call normal. COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill.

"It's been tough, I know!" says Brent, "But I also know that there have been many moments this year that have stood out above the rest and need to be celebrated. So I put a call out on social media for you to send one good thing that happened to you in 2020 and good grief, I have been left completely hopeful and inspired."

Have a listen to the final Good Things Guy podcast for 2020 on JacPod below.

Listen to more podcasts from Good Things Guy below.

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