Fred Rogers, who helped raise millions of American children over three decades as public television’s icon of kindness, offered the following advice for helping them – really, all of us – deal with disaster:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping,’” said Rogers, better known to all as Mister Rogers. “To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the words of the revered host of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” not only comfort, they inspire. Over the past few months in Alabama and around the world, we’ve seen countless examples of “helpers – so many caring people in this world.”

Many risk their own lives to help the sick survive. Others race the clock to develop treatments or vaccines to save lives. Still others keep the peace, put out fires, deliver the mail, pick up garbage, or offer small comforts to our lives as many of us continue to shelter in place. They deliver meals, groceries and packages that help us weather an unprecedented time in our history.

In recent weeks, residents of Wellington Road in the Mayfair neighborhood of Homewood, a suburb of Birmingham, decided to salute the coronavirus helpers with signs that blossomed in yards like springtime flowers.

(Courtesy of Alabama NewsCenter)