As COVID-19 continues to disrupt daily life in the McLean community, most students in the area are taking advantage of their time off school by relaxing and hanging out with friends. Unlike most of her peers, senior Sophie Howery has been spending her time off to help fight the spread of the virus. To do this, Howery created the Fairfax County Community COVID Aid Project, hoping to help support those who are at a higher risk of catching the coronavirus and becoming seriously ill if they do contract it.

“For elderly people and those with certain medical conditions, going out in public can be an even more stressful situation than for most,” Howery said.

Howery hopes to ease the stress put on these people by offering the help of the COVID Aid Project in daily tasks.

“The goal is to help mitigate exposure for those that it could really harm by helping them run errands that require going out in public,” Howery said.

The project has already begun planning its course of action, hoping to connect those who are susceptible to the coronavirus with a network of volunteers.

“As of now, we are creating a database that will help connect volunteers with those requesting help,” Howery said. “We have also been planning outreach to other areas of the county which we plan on rolling out once we get established in the McLean area.”

Howery was inspired to launch the project after hearing stories of elderly citizens around the country who have become nervous in public places because of the coronavirus.

“It got me thinking that there ought to be a lot of people in the area who are facing the same struggle,” Howery said.

The COVID Aid Project is poised to make a big impact on the McLean community, and even though the project will be terminated once the coronavirus pandemic passes, the project will provide a valuable precedent for student-led community projects going forward.

“Though we hope that nothing like this happens again for a long time, I think it will be a great model to use in the future should situations like this arise again,” Howery said.

If you want to volunteer or receive help from this project, use the link below.

https://www.fairfaxcountycovidaid.org/