Our mission to GYV BACK is always top of mind but, admittedly, it has been hard to focus especially when we find ourselves feeling helpless. As the whole world ascended into chaos, it felt like our family life followed. Not only because we listened to our local authorities and immediately disrupted our daily routine to quarantine but because my wife works in the medical field and at a time when you want your family safe together we have to watch her leave knowing she is sorely needed in the community.
It was a request from a loyal customer that helped remind us that our chance to GYV BACK happens in many forms. The customer wrote:
“Hi there! I was just wondering if you guys have a coupon code at this time? I am a nurse and with all the sanitizing my hands are bad so I need to restock and the only hand cream I use is GYV”
Without thinking twice my wife said, “We need to get her a hand cream asap. With all of the hand washing we have to do it is imperative our skin remains protected.” She pointed to an article in Time Magazine which quoted Dr. Justin Ko, chief of medical dermatology at Stanford Health Care as saying, “Soap and water rinses away germs and dirt, but also strips the natural, protective oils in your skin, causing it to dry out.”
In fact, the type of excessive washing that is happening to combat the coronavirus is causing dry skin that makes the skin on the hands tighter, which can result in micro-breaks or tears. These micro-tears, which are not visible to the naked eye, create a great entrance point into the body for bacteria and illness. It is important to remember to protect your skin with gloves and nourish your skin by applying hand cream and, most importantly, staying hydrated.
After we contacted the customer to let her know we would immediately send her a hand cream as a gift we received this response:
“Oh my goodness. I’m typing this through tears. You have no idea what this means to me. I work night shift in an ICU and I feel like day shift in the ER gets all the donated food and supplies from the public. My coworkers and I feel lost and overlooked. I too will pray for your wife and your family to stay healthy. It’s a terrifying thing to worry about bringing it home to our families.
This has touched my heart in a way that will never be forgotten ♥️ Thank you.”
What she did not know is that her love for our product touched our hearts and re-started our little engine to fill empowered to make a difference.
We share this story to GYV HOPE. We, as humans, have to step-up to this moment with our hearts open and ready to help. Not all of us have the skills or experience needed to step into a clinic or hospital to start working. Not all of us have an excess of money to donate to help buy food and supplies for those who are now unemployed. The easiest thing for us to do is listen and help where we can.
"I am like a drop of water on a rock. After drip, drip, dripping in the same place, I begin to leave a mark, and I leave my mark in many people's hearts."
Rigoberta Manchu