This Saturday Is The Day To Thank Every Doctor, Nurse, & Hospital Worker You Know

For months doctors, nurses, and hospital employees have been bravely working on the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic. I spoke to a physician this week who said he worked 27 days in a row this spring in order to help get his hospital prepped with appropriate PPE, ventilation, and new protocols to treat patients safely. It’s that kind of commitment to the cause that too often goes unnoticed. But now one nonprofit is inviting people across the world to write notes thanking these real-life heroes on Saturday, August 15, at 11 a.m. PST, in what it's calling "the world's largest kindest event"

How’s it going to work? Well, the nonprofit that supports teachers, the environment and arts education by donating gently-used crayons to teachers, is asking willing participants to write notes of gratitude and upload them to Instagram with the goal of uploading the most ever in an hour. Crayon Collection is taking this so seriously that an adjudicator from Guinness World Records will be present to count the uploaded images that users will post while using the hashtag #CrayonCollection. So don’t forget to use that hashtag!

To get participants fired up with thanks, event planners have recruited a line-up of authors, illustrators, and organizers to speak via the Crayon Collection YouTube channel livestream.

“So many of us are grateful for the hard work frontline heroes are doing to keep us safe yet we don’t know how to communicate our thanks. This event is an opportunity for all of us to come together and share our gratitude by creating notes of thanks and kindness that we can then send to our local hospitals,” Sheila Morovati, Crayon Collection’s founder and president, said in a statement. The event was inspired by the incredible efforts of all frontline workers, including one in particular, Dr. Lorna Breen, a New York City emergency room physician who treated coronavirus patients and reportedly died this past April.

Joining Moravti remotely are Oliver Jeffers who young readers will know from as the illustrator of the beloved book “The Day the Crayons Quit” as well as the book’s author Drew Daywalt who will read the book live. In addition, UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital Dr. Nina Shapiro and Jennifer and Corey Feist who founded the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation will also speak. Viewers can also expect to hear from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and, to round out the event, Instagram sensation Joe Whale, also known as Doodle Boy, will be on hand as the kid artist.

As a way of saying thanks, the first 100 teachers who register here to participate will receive a free copy of “The Day the Crayons Quit!” Teachers, note: In order to get a book, you must email info@crayoncollection.org following registration.

To register for the event, visit the sign-up page here. Get your crayons and a list of people to thank ready.