Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini. These are names we all have gotten familiar with from our history classes and continue to celebrate this time every year. But as this year’s National Heroes Day draws near, let’s take a moment to remember and pay our gratitude to the Filipino frontliners risking their lives every day in the fight against COVID-19.

Apart from those in healthcare, delivery drivers, grocery store employees, fast food crew members; essential goods vendors like garbage collectors or street sweepers; and government employees such as policemen and firefighters work tirelessly to keep society functioning smoothly amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course, let’s not forget the amazing athletes who represented us in the Tokyo Olympics! While we can’t all give a gift as impressive as the condominium unit Olympic silver medalist Nesthy Petecio received from Suntrust Properties, there are many other ways we can celebrate our modern day heroes and recognize their hardship and dedication.

Be kind.

Let’s start with the simplest way to show your appreciation: be kind. Essential workers who run our grocery stores, pharmacies, and fast food chains interact with large numbers of people all day. When shopping there, be respectful, thank them for their work, and wear a face mask to help protect them from contracting the virus.

Post a message on social media.

As we all keep our distance, communicating via social media has become more important than ever. Use your online platforms to send a message of appreciation to all frontline workers (and athletes!) and encourage your friends to do the same. You can also tag essential workers you know. This small gesture can go a long way to boost their morale.

Donate food to our frontliners.

Look into donating food and snacks to our frontliners. We all need food to fuel our body for a long day of work, so this is a great way to express your gratitude. Make it extra special by including a short thank you note! If you don’t know of any food donation drives you may participate in, just prepare simple meals you can have delivered to workers in your area. 

Donate money.

Many of our medical frontliners and essential workers are in need of monetary support for themselves and their families. Consider donating money to help healthcare workers in your area pay for PPEs and other supplies. Look for volunteer organizations you can donate to or start a donation drive yourself by raising funds using online payment platforms like PayPal, PayMaya, and GCash.

Stay home.

The most important thing you can do to show frontliners that you care and appreciate their work is stay home as much as possible. The rising number of COVID patients our healthcare workers take care of is surely taking a toll on them, so let’s do our best to stop or slow the spread of the virus by staying home outside of running important errands.

Protect yourself.

If you really have to go out for essential trips to the grocery store, medical appointments, etc., make sure you protect yourself by wearing your face mask properly, maintaining social distancing, and washing/sanitizing your hands when necessary.