In times of distress, a quote from Mr. Rogers often comes up: "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.'"
In its recurring segment, "The Helpers," KUNC is collecting stories of people who are going above and beyond to aid others during this time of crisis.
Bradley Maston is a pastor from Fort Collins. He also performs as part of the Northern Colorado Caledonia Pipe Band.
During the last few weeks, Maston has been walking around his neighborhood playing the bagpipes. He got the idea from a tradition of pipers playing in times of war or hardship to commemorate another day passing, but it also became a way to honor essential workers.
"I thought the least I could do to give people a sense of community and encouragement and particularly to encourage those who are putting so much at risk, just to (let them) know — from a distance, bagpipes can be heard from a great distance — how thankful we are," he said.
The piping usually draws a safely distanced crowd, Maston said. People come out of the houses and watch from their porch or driveways to listen and take photos.
"It's helpful for me … to know that even though we're separated, we're not separate," he said. "That we're still a community, that we're still neighborhoods, that we're still built of people who are united by good things and are still imbued with hope and courage and life."
If you know of a "Helper" making a difference, contact Stacy Nick at stacy.nick@kunc.org.
