Giving

Why I Started Pandemic of Love

Volunteers are showing up to save others. And in the process, finding themselves feeling just a little bit saved, too.
Shelly Tygielski

Shelly Tygielski

2 Min Read

When I started Pandemic of Love back on March 14th, none of us could have imagined just how deadly and prolonged the COVID-19 crisis would become. 

Now, as we see the number of cases continue to rise, coupled with the fear of the impending flu season; as we stand at the dawn of what promises to be a dark winter; and as our nation continues to bear a historic division among its citizenry, I somehow feel hopeful. 

What I feel is the Hope of Action. 

Showing up for others in our time of need helps to relieve both our own suffering and that of others.

There is an inspiring energy harnessed by simply showing up and putting yourself out there during a time when you are feeling lost, distraught or hopeless. It helps to channel negative energy into a positive force for change, which in turn generates positive shifts in our lives and in the world. 

The thing is, when dire days come, as they surely have for all of us weathering this global crisis, it is an act of self-preservation to take action. If there is one thing I’ve learned from this beautiful experiment called Pandemic of Love, it’s that involvement changes everything. 

The most important thing you can ever do in your life is to simply show up.

Pandemic of Love has brought the unlikeliest people together, it has saved families from spending nights on the street, it has paid for funerals of loved ones lost to COVID-19, and it’s ensured that both prescriptions and refrigerators were filled.

But above all, it’s brought a sense of purpose and restored hope in our patrons and volunteers who have been working under circumstances and in situations that are anything but joyous. These individuals show up with joy because they feel the Hope of Action. They’re showing up to save others and, in the process, finding themselves feeling just a little bit saved, too.

Read more about the work Pandemic of Love is doing on https://www.pandemicoflove.com/

Author(s)

  • Shelly Tygielski

    Founder

    Pandemic of Love

    Shelly Tygielski, is the Founder of Pandemic of Love, a global, grass-roots volunteer-led mutual aid community that has directly matched over one million people since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for over $52 million in direct transactions. Her work was honored on CNN Heroes in December of 2020. She is a trauma-informed mindfulness teacher, a community organizer, self-care activist and an author, with a forthcoming book, “Sit Down to Rise Up” due out in the Fall of 2021 from New World Publishing. After spending almost 20 years in Corporate America immersed in Fortune 1000 organizations, and the past decade as a high-ranking executive in public and privately-held companies, Shelly Tygielski, turned to teaching “modern-life mindfulness” full-time and has become a “self-care activist” who focuses much of her time in communities that are underserved, social justice and community organizations, nonprofits and public schools.  She is known for her practical approach that makes meditation accessible to all. Shelly was selected by the South Florida Business Journal in 2014 as one of their “40 under 40” honorees and in 2015 as a “Most Influential Business Woman” in the region. In 2019, she was featured on the cover of Mindful Magazine and was also named by mindful.org as as one of the “Ten Powerful Women of Mindfulness.”   Shelly’s work has been featured on CNN, Forbes, Upworthy, The Kelly Clarkson Show and CBS This Morning and she was recently recognized by President-elect Joe Biden as being one of the individuals that is restoring “the soul of America.”