Covid-19 & Small Acts of Kindness: Kendra Sanders

In these trying times, we hope to give you a glimpse of some ordinary people doing extraordinary things. There are many. Here is just one story.

This post caught our attention:

Easton restaurant owners, in light of the changes offered by Gov. Hogan, if anyone needs help navigating Facebook to get your page set up to promote carry out, delivery, post menus, post job openings for delivery drivers, etc., please message me. I can help. #wereallinthistogether #keepthelightson

With so many restaurant businesses in our area being impacted, this seemed to be a significant offer. After speaking to Kendra Sanders, the author of the post, the Spy agreed she would be perfect for our Small Act of Kindness series.

At first glance, you may wonder why the social media director for Curves NA & Oceania, Inc., one of the largest fitness center chain, wanted to help restaurant owners in Easton. That is until you learn that all of this global responsibility is handled right here from her desk. But her offer to give free advice is personal: “Both of my sons are in the food service industry in Easton,” she told us, “and my oldest son and their father were in food service, as well. I’m very sensitive to these folks with variable income and how quickly it could be devastated. When you shut down an entire industry that has so many storefronts across the entire state–which is quickly becoming across the country–how many people are being affected by that?”

Looking at the dynamics of the crisis, Sanders assessed that regular customers weren’t able to be normal and just get in the car for lunch or a night out at their local restaurant. She went further: What about those fine dining places? “Those places are the ones who will suffer the worse because they’re not in the stream of consciousness, like the places that normally and regularly offer curbside service,” she said.

As a media guru, Sanders knows that it’s going to take some creativity on the part of the business owners to ‘keep the lights on.’ “Everybody is looking for information right now, and Facebook, let’s be really honest, is where everybody is going. And I thought, ‘that’s where I can make a big difference because I have some experience with that.’ It doesn’t need to be hard, but It does need to be done quickly, and that’s something that I can do and do pretty readily, and I have access to a lot of tools.”

The tools Sanders speaks of are ones she’s developed and uses for work; ones she could quickly adapt to another industry. She asked her boss for permission and was given the go-ahead.

Ask what the most critical guidance she can give, and Sanders will tell you it’s all about communication. “The first thing I recommend,” she says, “is for restaurants to create a comprehensive single pinned post on Facebook with their ‘temporary services information.’ This includes delivery area, hours, menu, link to their website, and how to get in touch with them. They need to update their cover image to very boldly say ‘Currently Offering Curbside’ or ‘Currently Offering Delivery. People shouldn’t have to wonder when they hit that page: ‘are they delivering?’ The worst thing in the world is when people have to scroll to find it. It’s got to be in that cover image, and it has to be in that post.”

Sanders, an almost native of the Eastern Shore (she was born here, moved away and is now back), has a lot more practical advice for the industry. “If I know something that can help you, I’m more than willing to share. I don’t know everything about everything, but I know a little something about a lot of things.”

Sanders can be reached at [email protected]. If you know someone who is making a difference, let us know.