Staying Busy During the Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) staff members have been keeping busy with projects outside of the office. Below, Karen, Andrew, and Jeff tell us how they have been making a big impact during COVID-19.
Baking Cookies For The Nursing Staff at Brockton Hospital
Karen Griffth, from Annual Capital Projects is using her baking skills to churn out hundreds of cookies for front-line workers. It all started when she wanted to do something special for her neighbors during this difficult time – so naturally she turned to the idea of baking them cookies.
“In times like these, I think we all want to do something to help…there are lots of ways we can show our appreciation for what all the healthcare workers are doing – I guess for me that was baking. Seeing the real smiles peeking out behind the real masks completely made my day and confirmed why I love to bake!”
– Karen
Karen has made traditional smiley faced cookies in the past for friends who needed a little cheering up and immediately thought of creating face-masked smiley emojis. They loved them, and after Karen posted them on her Instagram @pieandpicketfences, she received lots of emails asking to order cookies. One email was from a friend who works in the Radiology Department at Brockton Hospital.
The cookies were a hit – so much so that the head of the Emergency Department requested another 100 cookies. With flour shortages at grocery stores, Karen had friends donate flour to her so she could continue to bake the face-masked smile cookies. Orders for another 120 cookies followed – including 5 dozen cookies that Karen shipped down to a friend in NYC who gave them out to nurses.
Building a Shed For His Father
Andrew Rovan, from Annual Capital Projects isn’t letting this pandemic get in the way of working on projects. When he’s not working on projects at BU, he’s working on projects for others. To help his father, Andrew built a shed for him, creating a place to store yard tools and equipment.
“There wasn’t a whole lot we could do with the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, but this is something productive that he, I, and the rest of the family, could do together to stay positive and productive.”
– Andrew
Cleaning a Local Park
Jeff Hoseff, from Major Capital Projects spent Earth Day cleaning up a local park in Malden. Malden is home to the John M. Devir Park, where Jeff worked for hours cleaning up litter.
“I realized that I could make a simple contribution to my community at the same time by picking up wind blown litter. I started with Devir Park in Malden…it’s a beautiful large park with playing fields and a veterans war memorial on the corner.”
– Jeff