I want to give a shout out to my dad, who still has to go to work. My dad has two jobs. His first job is that he is a youth advocate, and his second job is being a program manager in the mental health department at PATH. My dad has to deal with a lot of people and still has to come home and deal with my siblings. My dad also has three phones and two of those are for his jobs, and they ALWAYS go off. If that was me I would always be mad that these phones are going off that I always have to answer , but he does because they are his staff or clients. Even as I am typing this right now my dad is on the phone working hard.

Chyra, 9th Grade

Currently in this time of chaos, there are many people still working and serving others. One of those people that I want to thank is my dad. The company he works for repairs kitchen appliances for schools, office buildings, prisons, even Citizens Bank park, but most important of all, hospitals. Without working appliances the hospitals won’t be able to function. During this tough time, their company is not allowed to close because of the hospitals and nursing homes that they keep running. My dad seems to keep a positive attitude even when things seem hard. I am very thankful that he is able to help people, and it feels good to know that those hospitals are still running so that they can help people as well.

-Kieran, 9th Grade

I want to shout out my dad for driving to work just about every day, while most people just stay home due to the coronavirus. But you still attend work as an important part of the welding company. Thank you for being so ambitious and taking care of the family. We appreciate your hard work!

-Alexei, 9th Grade

My mom teaches 3rd graders in West Philly. During this quarantine, she has to do Zoom meetings with them, make lesson plans beforehand, and even does practice Zoom sessions with the family. This can be really stressful for her, but I would like to give her a shout-out because although she works hard with teaching her students online, she still makes time with me and my family offline.

-Journey, 9th Grade

I want to give a shout out to my mom’s friend Ms. Debby because right now they're working as a nurse. I feel this is important to acknowledge because each and every day she is in the hospital, she helps people and is at risk of catching the virus as well, even if she is wearing a suit. I also want to shout out to my dad’s friend Mr. Eric, since he was kind enough to offer services outside of work for elderly people, and now could be positive as well.

-Jason, 9th Grade

I want to give a shoutout to all the people who are risking their lives to save others. I know this time is very hard for them. They won’t be able to hug their kids or spend time with family as much as we are doing right now. They are out where the virus is in the hospitals putting their lives in danger so that the sick patients can live. I don’t have a specific person but all the front line workers should be appreciated because they’re doing so much with little resources.

-Tsion, 9th Grade

I would like to give a shout-out to the Garbage collectors because of the simple fact that there’s a whole pandemic, and they still manage to get up everyday so that everybody’s trash doesn’t get out of hand. I really admire their consistency and perseverance.

-Nadirah, 10th Grade

I want to give a shout out to my mom because right now she’s working as a physical therapist and sometimes works in Temple Hospital where people with Coronavirus are being treated.

-Cameron, 9th Grade

I want to give a shout out to my Aunt Gwen because right now she working as a Navy engineer and she has to stay at her base and can't see my uncle and little cousins during this time.

-Janell, 9th Grade

My Uncle Jeffrey works for amazon in the warehouse and puts all of the items into packaging for delivery. He may not be much but he’s still working around groups of people exposed to germs of the items and boxes, all to get what you need delivered to you. I think it's pretty cool that he’s working out there meaning that he won't let this quarantine stop him from doing his duty and being productive. I look up to this because it's everything I'm not, if I had the choice not to go to work I wouldn’t go even when I know I should. This shoutout is for my Uncle Jeffrey.

-Moses, 9th Grade

I want to give a tiny shout out to my step dad. He is an essential worker and a nurse. Everyday he comes home and explains how hard it is at the hospital. So, along with everybody at these hospitals doing their best, I’d say I appreciate and admire the time. I know that it could be a very hard position to be at. :)

-Carmine, 9th Grade

I want to give a shoutout to my aunt and cousin who are both working nurses right now in Germany.

-David, 10th Grade