By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
There’s a move afoot to spread a little light around Bowling Green during this dark time when the COVID-19 pandemic has people sequestered in their homes.
At 7 p.m. on Saturday (April 4) residents are encouraged to stand outside their homes with a candles, or set out luminaries, or just place a candle in the window.
The idea behind “Let There Be Light” is “to show support to the many doctors, nurses, medical professionals and emergency responders working to aid others through the COVID-19.”
That’s what the electronic announcement spreading through the community says.
Ginny Stewart, who is encouraging people to join the effort, said this extends to so many others who are having to show up for work while so many others are sequestered. That includes grocery store clerks and school bus drivers who are delivering 1,300 meals daily.
“I’m not the one who thought of the idea, I’m just pushing it out trying to create community,” she said. “I have a need to see people, to feel like we’re part of a community, and we can’t do it when you’re in your house.”
Last week when the weather briefly got warmed, she noticed people were out. While still social distancing, she said, “we were talking from across the street. It just lifted my spirits.”
The idea for Let There Be Light germinated during her discussions with her sister Peggy Tourje, who lives in Sebastopol, California, about what was being done there.
“I’m going to do it, and if I only get five of us, so what,” Stewart decided.
She created the invitation and shared it with 20 people in hopes they’d share it further, hoping it would go viral in a positive way.
So the word has gone out to the League of Women Voters, the Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis, and others.
“We’ve gotten really good response,” she said.
“Let’s support these wonderful people that don’t get to stay in,” she said. This sends a message “that we care about you.”
Stewart added: “I happen to watch way too much new, and I see what all these first responders are willing to do. It’s just my way of saying ‘thank you.’”
The time was set at 7 so it’s still light enough for people to see each other.
“I’m hoping it snowballs, but I won’t know if it snowballs because I’m going to be here.”
