Hospital Staff Surprised with Encouraging Chalk Art Outside of Hospital
As we’ve started holing up behind four walls, sticking to the perimeters of our properties or only traveling as far as our feet can take us, it has become important to many to signal to neighbors that we’re all in this together and want to support each other.
Some people are doing that by making meals for each other, mowing each other’s lawns or offering to pick up groceries while they’re out running essential errands.
Another fun, inexpensive way to encourage is through messages using chalk on sidewalks. “Chalk the Walks” is an event held on the third Tuesday of August, but its general motive is even more relevant now.
“Remember when you were a kid and you’d draw pictures and write happy thoughts with chalk in your driveway and down the sidewalks of your street?” the official website states.
“And the adults always smiled when they read the big, pastel-colored messages? This is just like that. Only we’re bigger now. And we don’t have to go in the house when the street lights go out.”
With people spending more time than ever out walking in their immediate neighborhoods, the appeal of this movement is clear. Plenty of families have participated, decorating the sidewalks bordering their homes with positive messages.
These messages range from reminding people they matter to encouraging walkers that this, too, shall pass.
While all of us could use a bit more cheer in our daily lives, there’s a group that could definitely use a lot more of these positive vibes at the moment.
The doctors and nurses putting their lives on the line to help complete strangers could use a reminder of how important and appreciated they are.
Some people have clearly noted this, as encouraging messages in all shades of pastel have popped up at some hospitals, stationed at entrances and exits that staff members use.
“Beautiful messages of encouragement were left for our team members to read as they leave & walk in to work,” Baptist Health Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida, shared on March 26.
“To the person(s) who wrote them: thank you. You’ve certainly brightened our week.”
Both grateful civilians and heartened nurses commented on the hospital’s post, and the comment section bloomed into a flurry of thankfulness.
“This is inspiring,” wrote one commenter. “Thank you to every person that enters the doors of every hospital in the world, to help save lives. They put their one lives on the line for us. Prayers for ALL of you.”
“Such a treat to see when I walked in this morning,” wrote one nurse.
“thank you for the encouragement, it touched my heart!” wrote another.
Baptist Health isn’t the only hospital that has seen these handwritten messages of hope pop up on their grounds.
“These sidewalk chalk messages of encouragement along Parkview Patient Tower 2 have been a pleasant surprise to our team members,” the King’s Daughters Medical Center shared on March 26. “This is such an uplifting random act of kindness during this time as we work to keep our community safe.”
If you’re stuck at home with kids, consider breaking into the sidewalk chalk and enjoying this uplifting outdoor activity. Even if you don’t have kids, this would be a great way to break up your day and flex your creative muscles in a most productive way.
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